bit4coin photo contest results are in

The winners have been announced for the bit4coin Bitcoin photo contest, which was launched on 8 September with the aim of finding an iconic image to replace the popular image of a physical bitcoin.

With almost 600 photos submitted, earning 7,029 likes and 0.75 BTC in donated tips to the artists, the contest ended last week, and judging carried on through the weekend.

The top 50 finalists, with the most likes and BTC tips, were passed to a jury of six bitcoin media sites, and Brave New Coin is delighted to have taken part in the judging process as one of them.

The winner is an image called "Sweet life. Bitcoin will be in chocolate," by a user named Nadin, which was chosen by four of the six judges. The image features twelve and a half cookies, each with the bitcoin symbol in white icing, on a plate with a matching color scheme. The artist will receive €1000 in BTC, in the form of bit4coin vouchers which are immediately exchangeable for bitcoin at the current exchange rate.

The runner-up, earning three out of six jury votes, is a picture of grafitti on a pillar, titled "Be Free from Financial Slavery." The submitter, Oisin Akiboye Conolly, will collect €500 in bit4coin vouchers for his winnings.

“Bitcoin enables freedom from traditional currencies and financial structures, including their controls and abuses, their corruption, and the suppressive nature of those who control them. With bitcoin you have the power to transfer value in an unrestricted, trustless and private manner. This photo captures the frustration of people in regards to fiat currency, and provides the solution: Bitcoin.” – Oisin Akiboye Conolly

Third place proved difficult to award, there were four photos that all had two jury votes. The original third place prize was allocated €250, but after discovering that it was a tie between four photos, the bit4coin team decided to increase the total prize to €400, giving each of them €100 in bit4coin vouchers. The four third-prize winners are:

“36 Retro Bitcoin Logos,” submitted by user Askhat Gromov. Clearly the most useful of all of the bitcoin photos, due to the sheer number of situations they can be used in, this photo is composed of 36 images freely available to the bitcoin community for creative use.

“Solar bitcoin,” by user Balina, is an image of a physical bitcoin backlit by sunlight.

“Bitcoin planet,” by user oxiyusuf.

The last of the third prize winners is “Bitcoin billboard.”

In addition, bit4coin decided to give a special discretionary award to an image titled ‘Cupcake Party,’ submitted by user Alistair from South Africa. He submitted this photo early on in the contest, when his kids and their friends created Bitcoin-themed cupcakes for dad’s birthday. Alistair will receive €100 in BTC, the same prize as the third prize winners received.

“While the image could not convince the jury, he amassed 448 community likes over the course of 4 weeks, enough for the bit4coin team to create a special discretionary award.”
— – bit4coin team

There were only two food picture entries, and they both won awards. With bitcoin cookies winning the first prize, and bitcoin cupcakes winning a special award, it seems that the bitcoin community is not immune to food psychology.

According to a study by food Marketing/PR/Social Media expert, Karen Fewell, Director of DigitalBlonde and Co-Founder of Food Marketing School, 96% of respondents said that it is socially acceptable to share pictures of food online.

People love to post pictures of their food, as well as share other people’s food pictures. Perhaps it is because most people can relate to food, as Fewell’s study revealed that 81.28%  of consumers surveyed admitted that they were a foodie, a person with a particular interest in food. In addition, pictures of sweets such as cookies and cupcakes are most popular on social media.

"We tend to find sweet dishes more popular on Youtube than savoury in terms of views and engagement – we think this is because sweet dishes are seen as more of a treat and an occasion than a savoury dish you’re likely to have everyday."
— – Jamie Spafford, SORTED Food Co-Founder

When it comes to sharing, the majority of people (70%) replied that they were most likely to like, comment or share someone else’s photo if it is an art dish. Bitcoin cookies and cupcakes clearly fall into this category.

"The love of food is something that brings people together regardless of culture of ethnicity, I think we find joy in sharing something that has made us happy," said one of the Fewell’s research participant. Based on the result of this contest, food certainly has a special place in the bitcoin community. Another participant sums up why food images do well, even in a technological niche like bitcoin, "Food can fit into so many categories of interest… brands, art, luxury/treats, social events and that is why it gets shared in all these contexts."

Since most people are receptive to food, using food images, especially sweets images, to convey the message of bitcoin can potentially help reach more people. After all, whenever people, who do not know bitcoin, see a cupcake or cookies that say “I love bitcoin,” they are more likely to ask what bitcoin is. Bitcoin food images can spark conversions, attracting the attention of people of all ages.

While the following images did not win a prize, here are some of those that just missed the cut:

“Bitcoin is sky-bound, soar with it…be free” by OBIUKWU EZEKIEL

“Bitcoin Universe” by Sebastian B+

“Simple Bitcoin Banner” by Theo

“Paper Wallets” by crbncll

“Girl with Bitcoin” by Moritz (Satoshi Graphics)

“Bit Morning!” by Roman Shevtsiv, another bitcoin foodie pic!

Although it may be unlikely that the mainstream media will find an image here to replace the tired, old, physical bitcoin pictures with, there are certainly some great pictures that everyone can use with their own writings and projects.

“We’re really happy with how the Bitcoin Photo Contest went, and could not be happier with the results. We thank anybody who supported it, the artists, users who voted and tipped, and the jury members. While nothing is confirmed yet, we could see us running the contest again next year!”
— – Dolf Diederichsen, bit4coin CEO