Satoshi Nakamoto — the maverick inventor of Bitcoin — not only saw a pregnant future but also made us its midwives as well. He planted his genius idea in our minds and armed us with a technology whose symbolism is freedom. Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? We will never stop wondering until the Genesis block is altered!
Thirteen years since the invention of Bitcoin and its underlying technology, there has been no shortage of pretenders vying for its throne. But the thesis that has been established is that it was invented by a mysterious figure with a Japanese name. Hence, the puzzle that unmasking Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity has become remains unsolvable — for the most part.
While Satoshi is largely unknown, his involvement in the early development of Bitcoin is mammoth. In point of fact, there is a semblance of facticity pointing to the whitepaper he penned, the Genesis mining of Bitcoin, Satoshi’s 50 Bitcoin rewards, Satoshi’s 980,000 mined Bitcoins, his acquaintance with Hal Finley, the first Bitcoin recipient in history, and Satoshi’s understanding of the price of fame.
Today, much of what we know about the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin comes from the amalgamation of clues, facts, and theories. But the sad truth is that we know next to nothing about him — not even the choice of gender ascribed to his vague personality is enough to go by.
Moreover, it is essentially in dispute whether the shadowy figure of Satoshi Nakamoto satisfies the biological requirements for the honor of being called human. But, Satoshi being a Japanese name for the masculine gender is nothing but a mere assumption to go by.
What if Satoshi was an AI robot? What if our judgment of Satoshi’s gender and masculinity is dead wrong? What if he was a woman or even a trans man? And what if “Satoshi Nakamoto” is just a monicker used by a group of nerds?!
Is Satoshi better Known Than Unknown?
The world’s obsession with Satoshi Nakamoto continues to grow yearly matching almost the growing popularity of Bitcoin itself. In colleges where cryptocurrency will be taught in the future, a chapter dedicated to Satoshi will be taught to students who wish to learn more about how Bitcoin was invented. There would be endless questions about who he was and why he is unknown, and they will be made to realize that whoever alters the Genesis block is the real Satoshi.
In a world as chaotic as ours, it is easy to imagine a couple of things that are most likely to trail the discovery of Satoshi since his name has already made him a subject of multiple interests. Although his shoes are too big for anyone to wear, his legendary status hints at various possibilities; from risking an attack on his life or that of anyone close to him, to the truckload of lawsuits waiting for him, and to the war of the press and the Establishment.
The Genesis Block
In solving the puzzle of Satoshi’s disappearance, the Genesis block; the first Bitcoin block, will have to be altered by Satoshi himself or whoever has the keys to it. Changing it is similar to cutting the Knot of Gordium except that whoever is able to do so will be said to have conquered the world without an army.
The Genesis block is a milestone. It is the first block that was ever recorded in the history of Bitcoin; it had a reward of 50 Bitcoins which Satoshi earned after mining the first Bitcoin, and it contained a text referring to the vanity of relying on traditional banks. This block altogether marked the remarkable beginning of Bitcoin.
However, it has remained inactive since Satoshi’s last correspondence with Hal Thomas Finney, the famed American computer scientist, lending credence to the fact that he was at some point involved in the early development of the Bitcoin software, and proving that he might have worked out the code before writing the Bitcoin whitepaper.
There are in the genesis block 50 unspendable Bitcoins locked by Satoshi for reasons best known to him or them. And it is popularly believed that whenever he sells off his stash at once, Bitcoin would tremendously lose its value and go to zero. To date, evidence pointing to the first Bitcoin transaction has been the public address of Satoshi which currently holds the locked reward from the first mining. Most people believe that Satoshi, real or imagined, exerts a profound influence on the movement of Bitcoin.
Conclusion
Whether dead or alive, and whether real or fake, Satoshi‘s name has reached the ends of the earth. In theory, he is one of the wealthiest men in today’s world thanks to his precious stash. But, we may never know his true identity despite the refined computer genius that he is touted to be.
Satoshi could be the mask of an entity or the true identity of a middle age man laughing at the folly of the entire world behind his computer screen, making a fool of money, or patiently waiting for the fullness of time to make all of the world’s wealthy men poor in comparison.
If Bitcoin ever achieves its full potential, Satoshi Nakamoto’s statue (whatever it will look like) will be everywhere around the globe.
Also published here.