Home / Headlines / Headlines Opinion / Psst, Bitcoin Fans! It Doesn’t Matter Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is

Psst, Bitcoin Fans! It Doesn’t Matter Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is

Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:39 PM
Samantha Chang
Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:39 PM

There has been a barrage of media coverage in recent weeks over the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor of bitcoin.

The coverage hit a fever pitch this week due to a court ruling in the $10 billion lawsuit filed against Craig Wright.

Industry: Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto

The Australian crypto entrepreneur has declared since 2016 that he is Satoshi.

However, many in the cryptocurrency industry don’t believe him. And the two judges presiding over his lawsuit say Wright is not credible.

This is mostly due to Wright getting caught in some of his own alleged lies.

Bitcoin transcends its creator

Accordingly, there’s a lot of online vitriol directed toward Craig Wright by his haters, who mock him as “Faketoshi” and call him a liar.

The disdain apparently stems from the fact that bitcoiners cannot accept that such a revolutionary technology could’ve been invented by someone they dislike.

But that’s childish and ridiculous. If you’re a true believer, it doesn’t matter who Satoshi is. If crypto enthusiasts claim their opinion of bitcoin would change if it had been created by someone they hate, then they’re the impostors.

Bitcoin fans laud the original cryptocurrency because they claim it transcends race, gender, religion, and politics. If so, it really doesn’t matter who Satoshi is or was.

who is bitcoin inventor satoshi nakamoto
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? More importantly, does it really matter? | Source: Pixabay

Tech icon Steve Jobs was a jerk

For instance, there have been numerous reports that Apple founder Steve Jobs was a jerk and a deadbeat dad. Just ask Lisa Brennan-Jobs.

Lisa is the daughter Jobs had out of wedlock when Steve and his high-school sweetheart, Chrisann Brennan, were in their early-20s.

Not only did Jobs deny paternity for years, but he had to be sued by his baby mama for child support. Even after DNA tests proved his paternity, Jobs denied  that he was Lisa’s father.

After Apple went public, Steve reluctantly agreed to pay a measly $500 a month in child support pursuant to a court order. At the time, Jobs was a multi-millionaire.

Steve Jobs’ daughter: ‘I was not compelling enough for my father’

In her 2018 memoir, Lisa Brennan-Jobs described how her dad’s rejection damaged her.

“I felt ashamed of the fact that I had this father,” Brennan-Jobs wrote. “Clearly I was not compelling enough for my father, this incredible man, to unequivocally own. I would think, was I an ugly baby?”

If you asked iPhone zealots if they like their phones any less because its creator was a jerk, most would probably say they don’t care.

Similarly, if Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity were ever uncovered and he turned out to be a jerk, that shouldn’t change how bitcoiners feel about it.

If anything, all this pettiness over “fake” Satoshis merely underscores what bitcoin millionaire Erik Finman says.

As CCN.com reported, Finman says bitcoin adoption has stalled and the barrier to its continued growth appears insurmountable.

https://twitter.com/erikfinman/status/1163941531922812930

Infighting is inhibiting bitcoin’s growth

One of the reasons for this is the constant, petty infighting that’s inhibiting bitcoin’s growth.

“What’s the difference between Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, and countless other forks?” Finman asked. “Which is the ‘real’ Bitcoin? This chaos is hurting Bitcoin’s ability to solve problems and become better.”

Finman, 20, noted that “competing factions, unstable forks, and misinformation” are holding bitcoin back from reaching its full potential. While this is happening, Finman is happy to sneak in and steal bitcoin’s thunder with his own cryptocurrency.

So who is Satoshi? Who cares? While some argue passionately over this on Twitter, entrepreneurs like Finman ignore the noise and plow ahead.