Original Bitcoin Laboratory · measure from the origin
Pick an origin. Pick a moment in history. See every version that existed then and how far each stood from it. The origin is a choice, not a fact — so choose it, and watch the distances change. This measures distance, not identity: which network “is” Bitcoin has no factual answer.
Distance = the number of axes (of eleven) on which a version’s value differs from the
chosen origin’s. It is neutral: adding a safety check (MoneyRange) and
removing a feature (disabling opcodes) both change a value, so both add distance — nothing here
is ranked better or worse.
Choose whitepaper and everything reads 0: the design constrains none of these
implementation axes — it does not discriminate. Choose nov08 and JAN09 is
already 2 (it differs on the unit and the proof‑of‑work) — so JAN09 is the zero
point only when you choose it as the origin.
From 26 Jul 2026 two more appear — the lab’s own reconstructions NOV08-X
and JAN09-X, MODEL builds carrying the full original vocabulary (nothing disabled)
under each constitution. Under nov08, NOV08-X reads 0; under
JAN09, JAN09-X reads 1 — it differs only by re‑opening the one
opcode v0.1 disabled. They are candidates for reference, not "the real Bitcoin."
Does the answer depend on which axes we picked? The axis set is itself a choice, so an
ordering is only worth stating if it survives that choice. When one version’s differing axes are
a subset of another’s, the ordering between them holds under every axis subset —
structurally, not by luck of selection. The line under the table reports this for the current
origin; absolute distances are not so robust, which is why each is always shown with its origin.
(tracker.py computes it via robustness() / subset_lattice().)
Companion: Is it a Bitcoin? — a reasoning compass that maps any object onto the seven senses of the word, honest about where the answer is convention rather than fact. · Lab home →