Most people know Dogecoin. Some even know Shiba Inu or Pepe. But how many remember the coin that came before them? Bellscoin (BELLS) isn’t just another meme coin. It’s the first one. Launched on November 28, 2013-eight days before Dogecoin-it was born from a video game, not a joke. Its name comes from the in-game currency in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing, where you earn bells by shaking trees, catching bugs, or selling fish. Back then, crypto was still a weird side project. Bellscoin was never meant to make millions. It was meant to be fun.
How Bellscoin Got Started
Billy Markus, the same guy who co-created Dogecoin, built Bellscoin as a lighthearted experiment. He didn’t expect it to take off. And it didn’t. Within months, Dogecoin exploded with its Shiba Inu mascot and meme-driven community. Bellscoin faded into silence. For ten years, its blockchain sat idle. No new blocks. No new miners. Just a quiet ledger with a few million coins sitting untouched. Then, in December 2023, something unexpected happened. A group of crypto historians and Animal Crossing fans dug up the old code. They reactivated the network. Not with a big marketing campaign or a celebrity endorsement. Just a forum post, a Discord server, and a shared love for nostalgia. By January 2024, miners were back. The blockchain was alive again.How Bellscoin Works
Bellscoin runs on its own blockchain using the Scrypt algorithm-the same one Dogecoin and Litecoin use. That means you can mine it using the same hardware you’d use for those coins. But here’s the twist: Bellscoin supports merged mining. If you’re mining Litecoin or Dogecoin, you can mine Bellscoin at the same time, with zero extra power or cost. It’s like getting free change in your pocket while you’re already doing the work. Unlike Bitcoin, which cuts rewards in half every four years, Bellscoin uses something called Epochs. Block rewards drop gradually, not in big jumps. After the 5th Epoch (518,400 blocks), the reward locks in at 2 BELLS per block. That’s it. No more changes. It’s a quiet, predictable system. And on May 4, 2025, the final halving will happen-cutting rewards again. That’s when things could get interesting.Supply and Value
Bellscoin has a hard cap: 500 million BELLS. Only about 82 million are in circulation as of early 2026. That’s tiny compared to Dogecoin’s endless supply or Shiba Inu’s quadrillions. This makes BELLS more like a collectible than a currency. Its price hovered around $0.15 in early 2025, with a market cap of roughly $12.6 million. It’s ranked #1153 out of thousands of coins. You won’t find it on Coinbase or Binance’s main platform. It’s on smaller exchanges like MEXC and Bitrue. Some analysts predict it could hit $0.37 by late 2025. Others say it’ll crash back to pennies. The truth? No one knows. But the upcoming halving and new tools being built on the network are making people pay attention again.
What Makes Bellscoin Different
Most meme coins are built on Ethereum or Solana. They’re fast, cheap, and full of bots. Bellscoin is different. It’s slow. It’s stubborn. It runs on its own chain, like Bitcoin. And it’s got something no other meme coin has: history. It’s also the only one with a direct link to Animal Crossing. In 2024, someone built Nintondo-a blockchain explorer and marketplace where you can buy and sell digital Animal Crossing items using BELLS. NFTs of virtual turnips, fishing rods, and furniture started trading. One developer sold 1,200 NFTs in a month. It’s not Wall Street. It’s not a hedge fund. It’s a bunch of people trading pixel art from a 20-year-old video game.Can You Mine Bellscoin Today?
Yes. And it’s easier than you think. If you’re already mining Litecoin or Dogecoin with a Scrypt rig, you just need to add Bellscoin as a secondary coin in your miner settings. Binance Pool added support in February 2024, making it a one-click option. No extra software. No new hardware. Just turn it on and let your rig earn extra BELLS while it works. If you’re not a miner, you can still get BELLS by buying them on exchanges. But be warned: liquidity is low. A $50 trade can move the price 5%. Slippage is real. You’ll need to use limit orders and be patient.
The Community and the Risks
The Bellscoin community is small but loud. On Telegram, it grew from 2,000 members in January 2024 to over 8,500 by mid-2025. Reddit threads are full of people sharing screenshots of their Animal Crossing farms and mining rigs. There’s passion here. But passion doesn’t pay bills. The risks? Plenty. Bellscoin has no big team. No venture capital. No marketing budget. It survives on volunteers. If the next halving doesn’t spark interest, it could fade again. And unlike Dogecoin, which has Elon Musk tweeting about it, Bellscoin has no celebrity backing. It’s purely grassroots. Also, regulatory risk is growing. The SEC has started cracking down on meme coins. If BELLS grows too fast, it could draw unwanted attention. Right now, it’s too small to matter. But if it hits $100 million in market cap, everything changes.Should You Buy Bellscoin?
If you’re looking for a quick flip, probably not. The volume is too low. The risk is too high. But if you’re into crypto history, niche communities, or just love Animal Crossing? Then BELLS might be worth a small stake. Think of it like buying a rare vinyl record-not because you think it’ll make you rich, but because you appreciate the story behind it. It’s not a bet on the future. It’s a tribute to the past. And in a world full of hype, that’s rare.What’s Next for Bellscoin?
The roadmap is simple but ambitious:- Q3 2024: Add OP-CAT support for basic smart contracts
- Q4 2024: Partner with more mining pools beyond Binance
- 2025: Launch official Animal Crossing fan collaborations
- May 4, 2025: Final halving event
Is Bellscoin the first meme coin?
Yes. Bellscoin (BELLS) was launched on November 28, 2013, eight days before Dogecoin. It was the first cryptocurrency to use a video game currency as its theme, making it the original meme coin-even though it was forgotten for over a decade.
Can I mine Bellscoin with my GPU?
Yes, but only if your GPU supports Scrypt mining. Bellscoin uses the same algorithm as Litecoin and Dogecoin. You can mine it directly or use merged mining with those coins. Most modern ASIC miners for Scrypt also support BELLS.
Where can I buy Bellscoin (BELLS)?
BELLS is listed on smaller exchanges like MEXC, Bitrue, and Gate.io. It’s not available on Coinbase, Kraken, or Binance’s main platform. You’ll need to buy USDT or BTC first, then trade for BELLS. Be careful-liquidity is low, and prices can swing sharply on small trades.
What’s the total supply of Bellscoin?
Bellscoin has a fixed maximum supply of 500 million BELLS. As of early 2026, around 82 million are in circulation. The rest are yet to be mined, with the final halving scheduled for May 4, 2025.
Why is Bellscoin so cheap compared to Dogecoin?
Bellscoin has a much smaller community, fewer exchanges, and no major marketing. Dogecoin has Elon Musk, massive liquidity, and years of mainstream attention. Bellscoin is a niche project revived by fans. Its low price reflects its current scale-not its potential.
Is Bellscoin a good investment?
It’s not a traditional investment. Bellscoin is more like collecting a vintage toy or rare comic. The value is emotional and historical. If you believe in its story and the community, a small position might be worth it. But don’t invest money you can’t afford to lose-it’s still a high-risk, low-liquidity asset.
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