Ranks: The Coins Under Your Name
Every Bitcointalk user has a rank. It's shown as a row of coins (or other symbols) under their username. New users start at the bottom; long-time contributors are at the top.
The ranks, in order:
- Newbie — just registered
- Jr. Member — 30 activity + 1 merit
- Member — 60 activity + 10 merit
- Full Member — 120 activity + 100 merit
- Sr. Member — 240 activity + 250 merit
- Hero Member — 480 activity + 500 merit
- Legendary — 775+ activity + 1000 merit (cannot be lost)
There are also special ranks:
- Donator — those who donated to the forum
- VIP — manually assigned
- Staff — moderators and admin
- Copper Member — opted in with a Bitcoin payment
What is Activity?
Activity is a measure of how long you've been participating, NOT how many posts you make.
You earn 1 activity per "fortnight" (two-week period) in which you make at least 1 post. The max you can earn from posts in a fortnight is 14 (one per "day" of activity).
This is important: posting 100 times in a day doesn't increase your activity faster than posting once a day. The forum is designed for steady participation, not bursts.
What is Merit?
Merit is a separate measurement, introduced in January 2018 to fight spam. We'll cover it in detail in the next lesson, but for now: Merit is given by other users when they think your post deserves recognition. It's the harder of the two requirements to reach higher ranks.
Why ranks matter
- Higher ranks = higher signature campaign rates. A Legendary often earns 5-10x what a Newbie earns from the same campaign.
- Trust signals. People are more willing to do business with higher-ranked users.
- Access. Some boards and features require minimum rank.
- Reputation. A Legendary username carries weight that takes years to build.
But:
Reading a profile
Click any username. You'll see:
- Their activity number
- Their merit number
- Their rank
- Their post count
- Their join date
- Their trust profile (we'll cover this later)
- Their signature campaign (if any)
- Recent posts
This is your toolkit for evaluating anyone before interacting with them.