# Gavin Andresen
# 2011-01-21 16:57:20
# https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2908.msg40181#msg40181

Because the first byte in a bitcoin address is a version number, and "version 0" is encoded as a "1" in the bitcoin address "base58 encoding" (because 0 is too easy to confuse with capital-o). @p{par}

Trivia:  -testnet addresses are version 111 (eleven is my favorite number), and begin with m or n (I haven't actually worked out whether they might begin with another letter, too...). @p{brk}