Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? It is a question we all want to know the answer to. The mysterious figure behind Bitcoin has captivated the world.
On 3rd January 2009, the first Bitcoin was mined by someone who goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. This someone could either be a group of people or one person who created the idea of Bitcoin.
Satoshi Nakamoto and The Creation of Bitcoin
Satoshi Nakamoto was a name that was familiar amongst computer scientists and fellow developers who discussed cryptography on online message boards.
The name Satoshi Nakamoto was used before the creation of Bitcoin. Despite being unconfirmed it is widely suspected that this person was also behind Bitcoin.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s online message forum profile can be found here.
Months before the first Bitcoin was mined, Satoshi Nakamoto published the first white paper on a cryptography mailing list, titled: Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
This paper was published in October 2008, the whitepaper outlined a decentralised peer-to-peer protocol secure with cryptography.
The reason for Bitcoin's creation is to take financial control back from the financial elites, allowing ordinary individuals to take part in a decentralised financial system, as the 2008 financial crisis showed that even the biggest banks can fail.
Bitcoin at its core is open-source, meaning no one has the power to control or own it.
Bitcoin is designed to be tamper-proof, transparent and censorship-resistant, to allow individuals to reclaim financial power through decentralised finance.
Bitcoin highlights the fragility of the modern financial system, where decentralisation of financial transactions can be seen as the answer. The fixed supply and resistance to inflation can make Bitcoin a good hedge against economic uncertainty.
The genesis block or the first-ever block of Bitcoin was mined on 3rd January 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto.
For the first few months, Bitcoin had no monetary equivalent worth, miners, people who use computers to solve complex maths problems to mine new Bitcoin were only doing so out of interest or experimentation.
The first real-world transaction of Bitcoin happened on May 22, 2010, or Bitcoin Pizza Day. Laszlo Hanyecz purchased two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin, which was worth around $25 at the time, marking the first economic transaction for cryptocurrencies.
Potential Candidates for Satoshi Nakamoto
Anonymity plays a big role in the success of Bitcoin.
Satoshi created Bitcoin to be trustless, with no need to rely on any central authority. Revealing the identity of Satoshi could open up a world of troubles, through legal and personal risks, maintaining anonymity safeguards the creator from any potential backlash.
The anonymity and decentralisation help to prevent a concentration of power by a single figure, if the identity of Satoshi was known they could use this to influence decisions within the community and ecosystem.
Despite the anonymity of Bitcoin, there has been speculation about who the creator is, below are some well-known names that have been theorised:
An Australian computer scientist, Craig Wright has repeatedly claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, which is often met with widespread scepticism.
Craig has even launched legal action against those who dispute his claim. Always failing to provide conclusive proof.
Despite all this, Craig Wright continues to claim he is the creator of Bitcoin.
Hal Finney was a renowned cryptographer and one of the earliest contributors to Bitcoin, Hal is often seen as a possible candidate, having reportedly been the first person to have worked on debugging and improving Bitcoin’s open-source code.
Hal also received the first Bitcoin transaction in 2009 from Satoshi Nakamoto. Hal unfortunately passed away in 2014 so there is no conclusive evidence to link him to Satoshi Nakamoto.
Nick Szabo is a computer engineer known for his work on smart contracts, and the creator of Bit Gold in 1998.
Nick has consistently denied any allegations that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, although Nick and Satoshi have similarities in their writing and the profession Nick is in, along with a similar creation makes it hard to ignore.
Dorian Nakamoto has a similar name to Satoshi Nakamoto and in 2014 a Newsweek journalist - Leah Mcgrath Goodman - wrote a piece titled The Face Behind Bitcoin, in it Goodman identified Dorian Nakamoto as the creator of Bitcoin.
Dorian Nakamoto has denied any involvement with Bitcoin.
A Group Entity
A group entity could be behind the creation of Bitcoin. A collective effort of developers and cryptographers could have collaborated in creating Bitcoin.
Or maybe even a Government creation, more on that can be found here.
Final Thoughts
The last forum post of Satoshi Nakamoto was on December 13, 2010.
Since then there has been no further communication from Satoshi Nakamoto.
Against all odds, the creator of Bitcoin has managed to keep themselves anonymous and has reshaped the world of finance, the popularity of Bitcoin is only increasing.
Despite the original vision set out for Bitcoin, the increase in adoption brings large banks and financial institutions looking to invest, buying up large amounts of Bitcoin, becoming Bitcoin Whales as a result and going against Satoshi’s vision.
The question is will Satoshi ever reveal themselves?
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This article is intended for educational purposes and is not financial advice.
