Online broker TD Ameritrade became the first brand to place an advertisement in the blockchain. It has imprinted its flag and name using ASCII art on the Bitcoin permanent ledger.
TD Ameritrade said, "The blockchain is an amazing piece of technology. And we're proud to be part of it. Forever. Through a series of transactions we became the first brand to place an ad in the blockchain."
The company has embedded its flag and its name on the distributed ledger using a series of transactions. It created the large ad image by linking 68 individual bitcoin transactions, with 80 characters per transaction.
The characters were placed on the page using a part of blockchain called OP_Return, which functions like the memo space on a check, where simple messages and characters can be placed within transactions on the blockchain.
"We love finding new ways to use emerging technology. So we decided to have a little fun and plant our flag. Okay - technically, we embedded it," TD Ameritrade said.
The flag containing TD Ameritrade's will be there permanently on Bitcoin's ledger due to the very nature of the blockchain.
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