History first / sources attached / conflicts disclosed

The button is a story before it is a token.

A missing interface control became shorthand for an era of retail markets. Five years later, an independent project put the object onchain. This room separates the historical record, the cultural work, and the token facts so none has to impersonate the other.

Machine-readable press kit Download the 56-page book Open the fact sheet

01 / Interface

When one disabled action became market governance.

How clearing and collateral obligations reached a retail interface—and why the public remembered the control rather than the plumbing.

Open sourced timeline

02 / Memory

What ordinary people remember five years later.

A consent-based first-person memory project for the small human details that official records often do not preserve.

Open witness archive

03 / Object

How an infamous interface became a live cultural object.

A canonical fluorescent button design, a read-only onchain instrument, a reaction library, and an independent project documented through public records.

Watch the live instrument

Copy-safe facts / updated July 26, 2026

The two-minute briefing.

What happened in 2021?: On January 28, Robinhood placed certain securities in position-closing-only status. Customers could sell existing positions but could not initiate new purchases in the affected names. Several other retail brokers also imposed restrictions.
What is this project?: The Buy Button is an independent cultural meme project on Robinhood Chain, launched July 1, 2026. It references the phrase “turning off the buy button” and is not the original application control.
What is unusual about it?: Every indexed buy across a curated Robinhood Chain community set presses a public read-only button. The project also maintains a sourced lore index, a 56-page visual history, public token records, and a live treasury disclosure.
Is it affiliated with Robinhood?: No. The project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Robinhood, GameStop, Reddit, Lighter, the SEC, Congress, or any cited organization.
What is the conflict?: The publisher operates the cultural and token project it documents. Project operators may benefit reputationally or financially from attention. The book discloses this and does not claim independent editorial review or institutional endorsement.
Canonical token identity: BUY / Robinhood Chain 4663 0x0e8720B8cD84F95b4b6696adbFA8063c4B8B94F2

Four-link evidence packet

Start here. Then verify independently.

Historical recordSourced Jan. 28 timelineRobinhood, SEC and congressional records Publication recordThe interface historyPDFs, citations, rights ledger and hashes Project recordToken and control disclosuresContract, supply, liquidity and identity sources Integrity recordFixed files and timestampsChecksums, web captures and pending attestations

Primary records

The history does not depend on our retelling.

Public integrity charter

Attention without fake pressure.

Market activity: No fabricated volume, transactions, liquidity, holders, or demand.
Participation: No bought social proof disguised as organic support, reply flooding, raids, spam, or ban evasion.
Incentives: Paid work, honoraria, gifts, and material referral relationships are disclosed where relevant.
Claims: No promised returns, guaranteed listings, price targets, false scarcity, or implied institutional endorsement.
Evidence: Recollection, interpretation, verified fact, live metric, and satire remain distinguishable.
Corrections: Material errors are corrected, and durable publications retain a visible revision record.

Read the complete machine-readable charter

Approved project assets

Use the source file, credit the project, ask before reuse.

Polished fluorescent capsule-shaped BUY button on transparent background

Canonical physical artifactPNG / transparent / 1707 × 921

The Buy Button social preview with fluorescent button branding

Editorial social previewJPG / 1200 × 630

Cover of The Buy Button: An Interface History

Visual historyPDF / 56 pages / source-based

These files are approved project references. Reproduction beyond ordinary reporting, quotation, or fair use requires written permission unless a file carries a separate license. Third-party marks and cited materials retain their respective rights. Do not imply Robinhood affiliation or use an asset as evidence of endorsement.

Neutral description

100 words without the pitch.

The Buy Button is an independent cultural meme project on Robinhood Chain inspired by the phrase “turning off the buy button” during the January 2021 retail-trading restrictions. It maintains a live read-only button instrument, a sourced lore database, public token and liquidity records, a consent-based witness archive, and a 56-page source-based visual history. Its token is BUY at contract 0x0e8720B8cD84F95b4b6696adbFA8063c4B8B94F2 on chain ID 4663. The project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Robinhood, GameStop, Reddit, Lighter, the SEC, Congress, or any cited organization. Its publisher operates the project and discloses that conflict.

Press / research / corrections

Ask for the source, the fixed file, or the human.

security@hoodbuybutton.com

Please state your outlet or research context, deadline, and exact claim or asset needed. This shared project address currently handles press, research, corrections and rights inquiries.