The Birth of Bitcoin

Satoshi clicked between the listing of a train from Japan and a train from England. While he preferred the black and red colored, steam train from England, he could purchase the green, steam train from Japan for cheaper thanks to the lower exchange rate. He stared at his computer screen; his cheek rested on his balled fist as he narrowed his onyx eyes in frustration.

“Irene!” he called as he leaned back in his desk chair and pushed his wired glasses up on his nose. Feet pattered out in the hall on the other side of the cherry wood door to his office. With a click, the door creaked open and Irene’s small head peeked in from behind the door.

“Yes, Daddy?” A small smile as sweet as her soft voice rested on her lips.

“Could you help me choose a train?” He waved her over.

She nodded as her smile transformed into a toothy grin. She skipped over to her father’s side. Her unruly raven hair, that matched his, bounced with each little hop. As she neared his desk, she stood on the tips of her toes and peered up at the screen. For a moment, she was silent; her eyes darted back and forth to both trains. “Um, the red one.”

“You like the red and black one?” He glimpsed down at her and his eyebrows quirked up. She nodded in confirmation. “Alright, we’ll get the red one then.” He pressed the palms of his hands against the edge of the desk and pushed, scooting away from it. He faced his daughter and leaned down to her, placing his elbows on his knees. “Want to play a game?”

Irene jumped up and down with excitement. “Yeah! I wanna play a game!”

Satoshi smiled. “Okay, you know this one. Pretend the government is here to get you.”

Without a word, Irene darted out of the office, her giggles filling the house as she searched for a hiding spot.

Satoshi turned back to his computer, knowing she’d stay hidden away for at least a good hour. He frowned at the trains. He had wanted her to pick the green train to help make his decision easier. However, he sat there even more conflicted than before. He hated exchange rates, wiring money, banks, and governments, all of it. He knew how untrustworthy they were after many years of coding for them. Why can’t they make things easy? Why does everything have to be about money? He shook his head. Why isn’t there a form of universal money? He tapped his fingers against his desk in exasperation. How hard could it be? It doesn’t even have to be tangible currency. I even could do it. He paused. I could do it.

With a swift nudge to his mouse, he minimized the tabs for the trains and pulled up the notepad on his computer and started coding. His fingers flew across his keyboard, the mechanical keys clicking with each solid press. He leaned towards the screen, his back hunched and his eyes narrowed. Every once in a while, he’d stop and test the code, then, he’d continue to type. He repeated this into the early hours of the morning.

It became his routine: wake, code, sleep, only stopping to eat and use the bathroom. With trust in few people, Satoshi kept his office locked and snapped at anyone who attempted to enter, except for his fellow coder and friend, Hale, who helped.

Months later, Satoshi and Hale sat in his office on the cusp of completion of the program. “What should we call it?” Satoshi inquired as he typed what little code remained to be entered.

“That’s up to you?” Hale shrugged.

“Bitcoin?”

“That’s rather simple, don’t you think?”

“Do you have a better name?”

Hale scoffed and shook his head. “Bitcoin it is then.”