Examining Emails Between Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto and Developer Martti Malmi: New Insights and Questions
Summary:
The article discusses a trove of online correspondence between Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto and early developer Martti Malmi from May 2009 to February 2011. The emails offer new insights into Bitcoin's early days and the elusive creator's persona, hinting at potential environmental worries about Bitcoin and Satoshi's limited understanding of its scaling issues. The language used in the emails, alongside references to specific programming terminologies, led to conjecture about Satoshi's professional background and age. Furthermore, the emails suggest that Satoshi's withdrawal from Bitcoin could be due to burnout from a demanding 'day job' not related to coding rather than external pressures.
Over 140,000 words, equivalent to a long novel, have been exchanged in an online correspondence between Satoshi Nakamoto, the mind behind Bitcoin, and Martti Malmi, one of the cryptocurrency's early developers. The emails, ranging from May 2009 to February 2011 and revealed last week by Malmi, offer fresh insights into Bitcoin's formative years and the often-guarded personality of its elusive creator. However, the information shared wasn't entirely new as it also contained extracts from Bitcoin’s “question and answer dump.”
Despite not fully understanding Bitcoin's scaling issues, Satoshi foresaw potential environmental concerns associated with the cryptocurrency's energy-consuming proof-of-work validation system in 2009. Jeremy Clark, co-author of a well-known 2017 paper on Bitcoin's precursors, pointed out that Satoshi's less formal tone in private emails differs from his public messages. Some of the quotes in the emails, however, were not new which caused confusion.
Satoshi's distinct language usage may offer clues to his background. While the founder occasionally used outmoded language, he generally refrained from using vulgar words. His usage of certain slang words suggests he may not be older.
The appearance of terms relating to internet use in the 1990s and specific programming languages in Satoshi’s emails led Jan Lansky, head of computer science and mathematics at Prague's University of Finance and Administration, to speculate that Satoshi might have experience in telecommunications or embedded systems.
The emails also raised questions about Satoshi's profession. His excitement over resuming code writing in 2009 suggested that his primary occupation did not involve programming. This could also explain why Satoshi stepped back from Bitcoin and handed the reins over to Gavin Andresen in 2011.
Discussions in the emails surrounding Satoshi’s replacement identified trust and technical capability as key considerations. Clark suggested Satoshi’s withdrawal from Bitcoin-related activities might have been due to burnout, rather than triggering theories of external pressures, such as from the CIA.
Satoshi's efforts to differentiate Bitcoin from David Chaum's DigiCash and his awareness of the failure of central authorities in electronic money systems further underscore his visionary thinking. However, concerns about Bitcoin's energy wastefulness remain, especially in light of its widespread usage today.
Overall, Clark stated that while the emails were instrumental in ruling out potential identities, the details were insufficient to reveal Satoshi's actual identity. Despite uncertainties surrounding the creator’s origin and identity, the focus remains on Bitcoin itself, a system transcending any individual, company, or government, inspiring confidence in many people around the world.
Published At
3/6/2024 5:01:00 PM
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