Origin Tales of Bitcoin

"Please explain Bitcoin to me like I'm five." I had asked my slightly unaware computer engineer partner one fine morning.

His mouth dropped open, the tea he had been drinking dribbling out down his chin in a bout of confusion.

"Why?"

I chose not to meet his gaze from my laptop screen again, attempting to wrack my brain for a decent excuse other than I spent last night browsing the internet again. Without looking I could already feel the genuine skepticism of twitching eyebrows upon me.

"Uh..." I clicked shut a few tabs on Satoshi Nakamoto I'd been reading. "Just wondered."

In truth, I had fallen a little deeper than simple wonderment. Following an insomniac's crazed urge to browse the far flung depths of the internet at 4am, I had become heavily intrigued in the mysterious cryptocurrency of the moment.

Never before had this happened; in more recent, previous times I had utterly no interest, not even a slither. My partner had mentioned Bitcoin on numerous occasions to which I would always zone out, yawn or leave the room. He, like many other techno-minded individuals owned a little bit of Bitcoin himself, 0.0061 Bitcoin to be precise, he'd tell me proudly. I'd always roll my eyes.

That early morning however I googled the worth of Bitcoin and my mouth dropped open. He owned a couple of hundred dollars worth for something he'd hardly touched in his life. Whilst it wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, the idea of it just seemed crazy to my tired mind as I lay there browsing in bed. I was curious to know more: where did Bitcoin come from, who was it's creator, what on earth was mining and what was it's future?

What we do know about Bitcoin...

Bitcoin is simply this: a global currency that is completely virtual and online. Each Bitcoin is a computer file which is stored in a digital wallet app on a smartphone or computer. Other people can send Bitcoins to your digital wallet, and visa versa. The idea is that you can use it to buy products and services as you would with PayPal. The downside is that many places do not accept it as currency yet and some countries in the world have banned it altogether.

Increasingly however, Bitcoin is becoming a big deal. Even a decade on from the global credit crunch of 2008 (remember that?), many people feel safer with Bitcoin due to the fact it's not controlled by government or banks. There's also the added benefit of being able to spend your Bitcoins with some anonymity.

Recently in October 2020, PayPal went on to announce that it would be letting its customers buy and sell Bitcoin for the first time.

In January 2021 Elon Musk of Tesla commented on his appreciation of the cryptocurrency and added #bitcoin to his twitter. His comments blew up the value of Bitcoin rising significantly to $43751 per single Bitcoin. Pretty crazy, huh?

…and here's what we don't know about Bitcoin

12 years on from Bitcoin's creation we still have little concrete information to go on. We do not know whether Bitcoin was created by one individual or many people in a group, other than the fact that they call themselves Satoshi Nakamoto, thought to be an alias used by a native English speaker. Likewise, we do not know their country of origin.

The internet is awash with theories and stories of which I enjoyed reading and thought I would share with the world. The six theories I have selected from the depths of internet folklore range from the factually serious, to the downright bizarre. Believe what you will but I'll let you decide for yourself.

1. Bitcoin was created by rogue Artificial Intelligence.

“Would it be possible that the reason for the bitcoin code to be so perfect, is the fact that the code wasn’t created by a single extremely skilled developer or even a team of skilled developers? Instead, could the code have been generated by a highly advanced artificial intelligence?” - UFO Today 2018.

The story goes that Bitcoin was not started by the infamous Satoshi Nakamoto, but instead by malevolent and sentient computers. Supposedly Bitcoin uses the allure of money to trick people into expanding its network and processing power.

Whilst it sounds rather a lot like the plot line of the Terminator movies, we do exist in such a reality in the present time. It's no secret that scientists all over the world are trying to create artificial intelligence all the time. With each passing year our computers become increasingly intricate and capable of amazing things. Who knows if or when they could become self aware?

2. World governments created Bitcoin to spy on and control you.

"Uncle Sam created Bitcoin in the immediate aftermath of the recession as a way to inflate an imaginary bubble rather than an actual asset class. The propagation of crypto has been pushed by opportunists led on by spies/actors." - Reddit Thread 2018.

After the year we have just had, the next two theories may come as no surprise to many.

A theory that stood out prominently in many forums online is that the intelligence services in the US are behind the creation of Bitcoin. Their mission in creating the cryptocurrency was to be able to send untraceable funding to top-secret international missions. Sounds legit to some I'm sure.

An alternative theory points the finger at the engineers running the Chinese government (of which there are many). It's alleged that they used a Japanese name to avoid suspicion and, as a highly industrialized country, have taken advantage of their ability to mass produce cheap computer chips to mine Bitcoin. Inevitably it seems their goal was to become unbelievably wealthy and reduce Chinese dependence on the US dollar.

3. Bitcoin has satanic origin.

"Is Satoshi the devil? Or did just The Church of Satan start investing in Bitcoin? Each time I look at Bitstamp, the price of Bitcoin is $666. For the entire day. Something weird must be going on..." - Reddit Thread 2015.

It might seem far fetched but this origin theory is widespread online; whether it is to be believed or not is another matter, but it doesn't take away the shivery feeling I get when I hear about it.

The first satanic origin theory suggests that Bitcoin is linked to a religious belief based on the book of Revelations in the Bible, where people believe the cryptocurrency represents the “Mark of the Beast.”

The Mark of the Beast stems from a story in the Bible’s New Testament and says that everyone on earth in the future will need to receive a mark on their bodies in order to buy basic necessities. This mark is compulsory for everyone, "the great, the small, the poor and the rich" and sounds utterly terrifying.

The second satanic origin theory claims that a hidden message from the Bible was found within a transaction in block number 666,666 of the Bitcoin blockchain.

“DO NOT BE CONQUERED BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD.” - ROMANS 12:21.

They do say the devil can quote scripture after all.

4. Every nation on earth is sleepwalking into a 'One World' Currency. Bitcoin is just the beginning.

"The world ultimately will have a single currency, the internet will have a single currency." - Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey 2018.

Much in tune with the theory we've just read, some people believe that the tomorrow's world will have one currency and you will need an identification chip to access it. Don't like the sound of that? At birth you will be assigned your chip and unfortunately you won't have a lot of say in the matter. Without it, it's unlikely you'll be able to sell or buy a single thing, food, clothes, a home, you name it. This chip will literally replace currency in every country along with all forms of I.D. cards, making purchases and travel more convenient and secure. In another light however you will lose your freedom and privacy forever. Thanks Bitcoin...

5. Satoshi Nakamoto is a fusion of big brands Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi and Motorola. Literally.

"Now relax a bit, it's just a conspiracy theory that Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi and Motorola company made bitcoin to scam people. This theory is never proved and is unlikely to be true. Still, people are questioning and speaking ill of bitcoin. Haters gonna hate but Bitcoin is growing and will keep growing..." Azizul Hakim Sowrov 2019.

Knowing a little about these brands made this origin story feel quite farfetched, but I found it amusing nonetheless.

There is a meme doing the rounds on the internet that combines the logos of well known electronic brands Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi, and Motorola. Put together, the first two to four letters of these companies spell out Satoshi Nakamoto, the supposed creator/s of Bitcoin.

SAmsung, TOSHIba, NAKAmichi, and MOTOrola

Why these America, Korean and Japanese electronics brands would want to team up and form a cryptocurrency is anyone's guess, but the name of the Bitcoin creator is certainly there for all to see.

6. Bitcoin leaked from the future via the dark web.

"In my world, soon to be your world, most governments no longer exist, as Bitcoin transactions are done anonymously and thus most governments can enforce no taxation on their citizens." Self-confessed time-traveler on Reddit 2019.

The last of the origin theories is quite dark and certainly gave me goosebumps. Out of all of the theories, this is the one I'd hope for the least!

Some discussion online believes Bitcoin to have come through the dark web in some sort of time loophole. It was not created in today's world, hence why no creator can be found beyond a mysterious name.

To make things even stranger, a letter from a self-confessed time-traveler appeared on Reddit a couple of years ago to warn us all of Bitcoin.

The message reportedly comes from the year 2025, the world as we know it sounding little more than a dystopian nightmare. Bitcoin has destroyed society, governments worldwide appear to have collapsed. Most people who own any Bitcoin have had to change their identities and disappear for their own safety. Suicide and kidnappings are rife, all in the name of Bitcoin greed and crime.

2025 isn't all that far away...

We all love a good conspiracy theory, however insane or bizarre they can be. From this point on it's hard to say which of these origin theories ring true (if any), but they certainly bring about the true mystery of Bitcoin.

It's predicted the final Bitcoin will be mined around 2140, so with all that time left I'm certain the true origin theory will be discovered by then. At least I hope in my life time.