When did Satoshi first come to light?

Satoshi Nakamoto – the famous pseudonym was used by the creator of the first implementation of Blockchain, the founder of Bitcoin and the author of Bitcoin’s whitepaper published back in 2009. Today, the creator’s identity is still unknown, and we have no idea if it was a man, a woman, or a group that paved the way for cryptocurrencies.

Satoshi Nakamoto started working on the Bitcoin code in 2007. In August 2008, he/she/they registered the domain “bitcoin dot org” then first appeared in public in January 2009 with the whitepaper public release. In December 2010, Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared from the public eye.

The first signs of crypto

October 31st, 2008: Nakamoto publishes a white paper on a cryptography mailing list describing a digital cryptocurrency. The title is Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.

The beginning

January 9th, 2009: Satoshi releases the first version of the Bitcoin software on SourceForge, and launches the network by defining the genesis block, block number 0 – which has a reward of 50 bitcoins.

The following text message is embedded in the transaction of this block:

“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on the brink of second bailout for banks.”

The grand exit

Nakamoto continued to work on the source code and collaborate with other developers on Bitcoin’s software until mid-2010. Nakamoto then passed everything to Gavin Andresen and a few other essential Bitcoin community members and exited out of the public eye, stopping the recognized involvement in the project.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin doesn’t have to be one thing. It can be many things for different people. At its core, Bitcoin has three essential facets:

• a data transmission protocol over the internet,
• a distributed public ledger or Blockchain
• a digital monetary value system (cryptocurrency)

Many wondered why Nakamoto hadn’t explained what Bitcoin is meant to achieve in greater detail. The answer to that question is simple: they probably did not know. 

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

If you’re asking yourself why Satoshi Nakamoto decided not to reveal their identity, the answer may be simple. It’s not a good idea for this to be made public because of the security concerns that may arise from this.

Andreas M. Antonopoulos – one of the original Bitcoin advocates – compares the situation to a Greek tale:

Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave this revolutionary technology to mankind. The same goes for Bitcoin and Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi stole money from the State (as in they stole the technology of money) and gave it directly to mankind.

Satoshi’s identity doesn’t matter

Satoshi Nakamoto is not a deity nor a prophet; Satoshi represents the fresh beginning of a new culture. It is up to us to create and expand Satoshi’s legacy. We are in the position to write the history of humankind.

Andreas Antonopoulos said this about Bitcoin’s Blockchain:

“In a system where you don’t require permission to innovate, be creative, and launch an application on the network, all you need is to find someone else who wants to interact with you using the app – the user base of a legitimate application is two people, for some applications even one. That is what Bitcoin is and, also, whatever else you want it to be.”

He then continued to explain how, with the help of blockchain technology, you don’t need to put an app through a focus group or test it. Just write a protocol definition and launch it on the network. You only need two people to run an application on the network. That is enough for that application to be meaningful to you.

One of the magical capabilities of a global public blockchain is that it allows you to directly express the needs or desires of two or more people.

Suppose you want to create a new essential application for our modern digital system. In that case, it has to be something that billions of people will use. So it’s essential to think about it as something you own, I own, and we all own.

Is it over with Satoshi?

It is just the beginning. Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared just in time. It was a very smart move. But what he/she/they left behind is a vision of what Bitcoin is now and can be in the future.

What we know for sure is that we’re glad everything happened the way it has, or else we wouldn’t be where we are now. If you’re a crypto enthusiast like us, join Your Friendly Crypto Exchange to discover trading taken to another level.

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