Charlie Shrem, former CEO of one of the earliest bitcoin exchanges, BitInstant, has launched a website urging the return of faucets, where users can earn the first cryptocurrency by solving tasks.
Working on getting the bitcoin faucet going again at https://t.co/mHkgSR6H41
— Charlie Shrem (@CharlieShrem) May 4, 2025
The entrepreneur’s platform, 21million.com, mimics the first digital gold CAPTCHA page created by bitcoin pioneer Gavin Andresen back in 2010.
Its users solved tasks to identify bots.
On 21million.com, a screenshot of the CAPTCHA and a field for entering the recipient’s coin address are displayed, which at the time of writing is not operational.
The site also indicates that 0 BTC is available.
Visitors to the website can learn about the first cryptocurrency and ways to obtain it. According to Shrem, there are “no hidden traps” on 21million.com.
“I want bitcoin to succeed, so I created this small service to give you a few coins to start with,” he explained.
The entrepreneur added that the resource was launched thanks to AI prompts.
Bitcoin faucets contributed to the adoption of the first cryptocurrency in its early days.
On Andresen’s website, users received 19,700 BTC, valued at $1.86 billion at current prices. Visitors could earn up to 5 BTC a day.
The bitcoin faucet encouraged the creation of wallets and transactions, which expanded the audience and increased on-chain activity of digital gold.
Alternatives like FreeBitco.in began offering similar services between 2011 and 2013.
As the price of bitcoin rose and transaction fees increased, the rewards diminished, leading to the model’s instability.
Currently, Shrem manages the crypto venture fund Druid with AUM of $13 million. He also hosts the podcast The Charlie Shrem Show, featuring key industry participants.
At one point, BitInstant accounted for up to 30% of all bitcoin transactions.
Between 2011 and 2013, the platform attracted funding from several angel investors, including Roger Ver. By then, BitInstant was one of the largest in the industry.
In January 2014, Shrem was arrested on charges of money laundering and indirectly facilitating bitcoin transactions totaling $1 million. The funds were linked to the darknet marketplace Silk Road.
Initially, the entrepreneur faced up to 30 years in prison. Shrem admitted to some of the charges and was released in June 2016 after serving two years in a federal prison in Pennsylvania.