In 2010, Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of #bitcoin - the first cryptocurrency, disappeared from the online sphere. Since then, members of the cryptocurrency community have been trying to find him. Some researchers have concluded that American cryptographer and cypherpunk Nick Szabo could be Satoshi Nakamoto. Here, we explain why he is considered a potential candidate for this role.
Who is Nick Szabo?
Nick Szabo is a renowned scientist and cryptographer who is highly regarded in the cryptocurrency community. He was born in the United States in 1964. In 1989, Nick earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Washington. Additionally, he holds a law degree from George Washington University Law School.
Szabo is considered one of the key cypherpunks, participating in an online group where people explore the benefits of using cryptography and other tools to enhance privacy and facilitate social and political changes, including payments.
Journalists do not have much information about the personal life of this cryptographer as he is quite reserved. According to some reports, Nick became interested in encryption, cryptography, and programming due to his father, who told him about government abuse. During the Hungarian revolution against the USSR in 1956, Szabo's father witnessed numerous government crimes, including the confiscation of citizens' assets.
Why is Nick Szabo considered the creator of Bitcoin?
Nick Szabo's ideas played a significant role in the development of the digital asset market and inspired other programmers. His key contribution was the concept of "Bit Gold," published in 1998. In this concept, he proposed the idea of creating a decentralized cryptocurrency using cryptographic principles. This concept is similar to the mechanics of Bitcoin presented by the anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto in his 2008 whitepaper.
Nick Szabo is also known as the author of the concept of smart contracts, which he published in 1994. Two years later, Szabo expanded this concept and presented possible applications. Subsequently, in 2015, this development became the foundation for the cryptocurrency project Ethereum.
Despite his contributions forming the basis for two of the most capitalized cryptocurrency projects, #ethereum and Bitcoin, Nick Szabo denies his involvement in creating the first cryptocurrency.
Interesting! Even the chatbot #chatgpt and Elon Musk believe that Nick Szabo strongly resembles the creator of Bitcoin and trust that he created this cryptocurrency. Elon Musk explains his viewpoint by the fact that Szabo's ideas and developments align with Bitcoin's ideology as an alternative financial instrument.
For and Against
There is evidence suggesting that Nick Szabo could be the creator of Bitcoin, considering the following information:
The writing style and word choice of Nick Szabo are very similar to those used by Satoshi Nakamoto.
Nick Szabo is the creator of concepts and technologies that form the basis of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrency projects.
Szabo had personal motivations for creating a decentralized payment system as he sought vengeance for his father's sufferings.
Nick Szabo possesses the cryptographic skills necessary to create projects at the level of Bitcoin.
It is known that one of Satoshi Nakamoto's wallets starts with the characters "1NS," which correspond to the initials of Nick Szabo's name and surname.
All these facts provide a basis for claiming that Szabo could be the creator of Bitcoin, but there is no official confirmation of this yet.
Some arguments against the assumptions that Nick Szabo created Bitcoin include the following:
Satoshi Nakamoto mentioned Nick Szabo's Bit Gold as one of the fundamental concepts of Bitcoin but did not imply that Szabo himself was the creator of BTC.
Many believe that Satoshi Nakamoto is Japanese, whereas Szabo does not have Japanese roots.
Szabo has a legal education, and Nakamoto often struggled to answer questions related to the legal aspects of Bitcoin. Nakamoto himself explained his lack of preparation in this area by stating that he is not a lawyer.
Nick Szabo personally denies his involvement in creating Bitcoin.
Considering all the arguments for and against, it can be concluded that another person is hiding behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
There is also a hypothesis that the creation of Bitcoin can be attributed to two other developers - Dorian Nakamoto and Hal Finney. What do you think about this? Share your thoughts in the comments.
