Like the search for the Lock Ness Monster or Bigfoot, the hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto may never have a happy ending. A revolutionary invention that may yet change how the entire world does business, but without a known inventor will forever create rampant speculation, conspiracy theorists, and basic human curiosity. It seems to have certainly captured the imagination of British author Dominic Frisby who, in his new book “Bitcoin – The Future of Money?” , searches for the truth behind the name behind the 21st-century currency.
Frisby has spent the last several months turning up many stones in search of some answers, and his All Points Bulletin (APB) leads to only one man, Nick Szabo. Nick has a rich history is digital currency that dates back well before Bitcoin over the last 25 years. This is not the first time Nick Szabo has been chosen as the one who started Bitcoin. Szabo is most well-known as the earliest proponent and possible inventor of the Smart Contract concept, back in 1997. The tea leaves that Frisby has read in his hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto include: Similarities in writing styles between Nakamoto and Szabo, Szabo creating precursors of digital money concept in his past, similarities in time zones and sleep time patterns, the same operating system usage, and coding language matches. Frisby states:
“What for me was a humdinger: Szabo worked for David Chaum’s Digicash (a digital currency model that worked on a centralized system, founded by Chaum in 1990). I even found his old Digicash email address.”
The last time someone had decided they had found pay-dirt in the hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto was Newsweek’s infamous outing of Dorian Nakamoto. Just sharing Satoshi’s last name, and living on the West Coast isn’t a great starting point for finding the genesis of a global crypto-currency, under the legendary journalism name of Newsweek. This caused immense invasion of privacy issues, both publicly and with government forces, leading to him suing Newsweek for the alleged error in reporting.
Could this book lead to such an outcome? Most probably not, as Frisby has said before, publicly, that he cannot say Szabo is Satoshi Nakamoto definitively. He has many pieces of circumstantial evidence, and a lack of other potential creators who would fit the profile of a digital currency inventor, hell-bent on privacy. Frisby said to IBTimes UK:
“There is no proof, just a great deal of circumstantial evidence. Szabo denies it….I try to keep an open mind, and if someone can come up with a better candidate I’ll take a look, but as (of) yet there isn’t one.”
The reasons for Szabo, Satoshi Nakamoto, or any inventor of a revolutionary protocol to remain private are obvious. Just follow the recent story of harassment of Dorian Nakamoto, and then multiply that times ten. Being the creator of better money and technology can make plenty of enemies within the status quo, the ones who are more than happy with the downsides of our current economic state. Apple needed a Steve Jobs. Bitcoin not so much. The hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto will continue.
What is much more relevant is the tech has proven solid and highly functional in the real-world. Nothing is perfect, but Bitcoin has clear advantages over many of the current financial standards, and this is only a first “app”. The Blockchain’s future is so bright I gotta wear shades!
Do you really need to hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto? Would his identity change how you view Bitcoin? Share above and comment below.
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