The Mystery of Bitcoin

Bitcoin is regarded as the world’s exceptional and most influential cryptocurrency, nonetheless its production is still surrounded by countless mystery. Since it was established in 2009, Bitcoin has encountered major highs and lows. In both its prominence and availability, Bitcoin has expeditiously evolved as an online payment mechanism. It is inconceivable and beyond belief that one who has created such a universal innovation remains entirely anonymous. Can such an extravagant, leading universal invention be created and yet the enigmatic inventor’s true identity remains entirely unidentified? Who could have established Bitcoin? Was it set up by one person? And who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

History of Bitcoin

In the year 2008, the first inklings of bitcoin started speculating on the network. Later on, in August 2008, the domain name bitcoin.org was secretly registered online. Furthermore, a cryptographic mailing list was spread through a peer-to-peer digital currency scheme. The spreading of the cryptographic mailing list was the very first occurrence of the enigmatic figure, evidencing Satoshi Nakamoto’s presence on the internet. Thus, connecting the name of Satoshi Nakamoto indelibly to the cryptocurrency. In July 2010, bitcoin entered the market from between $0.0008 to $0.08 for a single coin. However, when it was first launched in 2009, the price of the currency was $0.

Thirty thousand bits of data signify the commencement of Bitcoin on January 3, 2009. The thirty thousand bits of data operates through an independent computer system that is ‘extracted’ in a lottery-based process by individuals pursuing Bitcoin. It is anticipated that a total of 21 million coins will be produced over the next 20 years.

In 2013, Bitcoin’s economic growth began to be gradually experienced. In early 2013, Bitcoin entered the market at around $13.50 per the digital currency. Unexpectedly, the value rose in April 2013, escalating to around $220 before declining to about $70 throughout mid-April. This was the very first development and obstacle related with the cryptocurrency. In October and November of 2013 Bitcoin managed to recuperate. At the beginning of October, the cryptocurrency operated at about $100 and by the end of the month it exceeded with about $195. In the month of November, the value ranged from about $200 to over $1,075 by the end of the month. The growth in price was driven by emerging financial institutions and miners from china who are seeking to join the industry. This was during a time when Mt. Gox exchange was also in service. Mt. Gox a bitcoin exchange based in Tokyo, Japan was believed to be engaged with around 70% of all bitcoin’s exchanges.

After attaining this high record in 2013, the value started to become incredibly unpredictable. Conspiracy theories in regard to the absence of protection via Mt. Gox, along with inefficient management, made the industry insecure. In addition, users were experiencing difficulty when withdrawing their cash from the exchange. On December 4, 2013, the value was $1,079. On the other hand, by December 7, it dropped to about $760 which is a decrease of about 29% just within a few days.

In January 2014, trading ability was expanded to some extent of about $920. Unfortunately, a further significant incident occurred at the beginning of February during a period when Mt. Gox registered for bankruptcy security in Japan. On February 4, bitcoin was valued at about $850 but later crashed to approximately $580 by February 16 – a decrease of 32%. The value then dropped to a slower and more constant decline. In mid-July 2014, the cryptocurrency was operating at about $600. At the start of 2015, the value reduced to about $315.

During the summer of 2015, the market value become stable to some extent. Interestingly, at the beginning of November an enormous increase was encountered. On October 23, the digital currency progressed from about $275 to about $460 on November 4. The currency at some extent managed to sell about $360 per coin at the end of November 2015. By 2016, Bitcoin has gradually risen, smashing $1,000 through at the beginning of 2017.

Bitcoin’s Meteoric Rises and Falls

The value of the currency continued to increase in 2017. Later on, in October 2017, the value rose to $5,000 and massively multiplied to $10,000 in November. But then again, the cryptocurrency managed to surpass $19,783 per coin in December of 2017. Nevertheless, numerous analysts and intellectuals considered this as an economic bubble to the cryptocurrency. Likewise, the cryptocurrency was related to the Dutch Tulip Mania of the 17th century. Undoubtedly, after only some weeks, the value of the currency dropped dramatically. In April 2018, the value dropped to $7,000 then drastically dropped to $3,500 in November 2018.

By 2019, Bitcoin encountered a rapid development in supply and demand, it gradually increases and suddenly in June 2019 it surpasses $10,000. Unfortunately, by the end of 2019 Bitcoin’s value declined to about $7,000.

In 2020 changes were experienced. Renewed interest significantly increased between stakeholders. Undeniably, it was evident that the total number of people investing over 1,000 coins improved. On January 1, the market price expanded rapidly throughout the year, beginning at $7,200 and finishing off at $18,353 on November 23. This is an improvement of around 155%. During the constantly rising purchasing power of the currency due to COVID-19 government expenditure, Bitcoin gained further source of income when enterprises decided to acknowledge it as a magnificent entity of prominence. In December 2020, Bitcoin’s value hit an all-time record of roughly $24,000. Bitcoin’s diversification, obstructions from critics and other organisational interest in using the digital currency are all determinants that enhance its price rise.

So how much will Bitcoin be price in 2030? Jeremy Liew a firm specialist at Lightspeed venture partners projected that bitcoin might exceed $500,000 per coin in 2030. Contrarily, a Crypto Research study was conducted in June 2020 and anticipated that the digital currency might achieve over $397, 000 per coin by 2030. Consequently, it can be inferred that the calculations for the potential price of bitcoin depends on who makes the valuation. So, who could be the inventor of this mysterious work?

Is Satoshi Nakamoto the inventor of Bitcoin?

Hal Finney was considered to be one of the early pioneers of Bitcoin. Before joining Bitcoin, Hal Finney is known for being a digital game developer and an influential supporter of ‘cypher punk movement.’ Later on, Finney acknowledged Satoshi Nakamoto’s concept for Bitcoin via the cryptocurrency mailing list.

Finney admits that the concept of highly centralised online currency would enhance the flow of money electronically while maintaining a sense of privacy. Finney enthusiastically volunteered to mine the very first 10 original Bitcoins from block 70, which Satoshi announced them for a test.

Finney states that experiences with Nakamoto was inconsequential. This was evident through his statement as follows… “I thought I was dealing with a young man of Japanese ancestry who was very smart and sincere. I’ve had the good fortune to know many brilliant people over the course of my life, so I recognise the signs.” Finney strongly denied the allegation that he was the inventor of Bitcoin and has always stated that his curiosity would simply be regarded as supplementary.

Unfortunately, Finney passed away in 2014 of ALS; a neurodegenerative illness. In Finney’s last statements, he firmly declared that the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is all a mystery to him. Nevertheless, Finney stated that he’s indeed grateful and appreciative of his achievements in relation to the cryptocurrency. Furtherly, his bitcoin of cache was secured in an encrypted account, as evidence of succession to his family. “Hopefully, they will be worth something to my heirs,” Finney finally declared.

Bitcoin is currently working exceptionally hard to enhance its global currency. In the year 2010, Bitcoin experienced a severe group of dealers who began receiving Bitcoin instead of the well-established cryptocurrencies. A pizza was confirmed to be one of the very first real-world tangible items to ever be bought with the digital currency. The total spent to buy the pizzas is currently estimated to be $US100 million.

The digital currency set off by drawing attention from tech intellectuals. It is considered that in the year 2012, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss acquired bitcoin priced at $US10 million. Eventually, in just about a year their capital extremely tripled. The Winklevoss twins are believed to possess 1% of all the bitcoin on the market. In addition, Bitcoin functioned as the chief component of currency for the online illicit drugs corporation ‘the Silk Road’ that was launched in 2011.

Bitcoin is fundamentally traceless, a vital component that has proven it to be the perfect digital currency for managing drug trafficking on the increasingly prominent black internet market. It was comparable to the digital currency, a self-governing trading network that persistently maintained the privacy of its founder. When using Bitcoin, anyone could proceed to the Dark Net and buy LSD, cocaine and cannabis seeds without anyone disclosing their real identities. Nonetheless, since the component was launched it was able to easily facilitate illegal trading within the industry.

After two years, “Satoshi Nakamoto” disappears completely and suddenly from the internet.

On April 23, 2011, Satoshi Nakamoto sent out a brief message to Bitcoin Core developer Mike Hearn. As follows was Nakamoto’s message… “I’ve moved on to other things,” referring to the cryptocurrency which is the industry’s full potential. Nakamoto decided to leave a wide collection of documents, a premise on the operations of Bitcoin as well as the greatest digital currency to ever be established.

Nakamoto also known as Satoshi Nakamoto is 70 years old, who lives in Los Angeles and has reminded people hundreds of thousands of times, that he’s not the inventor of Bitcoin. In 2014, Leah Goodman a journalist from Newsweek wrote a news article regarding the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. This is due to his remarkable experience in engineering and extremely private business life. After the sudden publication, Nakamoto was followed by journalists as he was walking to a local sushi diner. Nakamoto informed an Associated Press reporter that he had just discovered Bitcoin weeks after Goodman approached him regarding the Newsweek article.

Craig Wright’s controversy

The identity of Satoshi is problematically asserted by Australian computer scientist Craig Wright. In 2016, Wright reported that he was indeed the inventor of Bitcoin and that he'd provide evidence to prove his status as the inventor of Bitcoin. Nonetheless, the evidence could not be accurately and confidently generated. Previously, Wright declared out loud that he could further file a lawsuit against critics seeking to prevent him from leading the world. Furthermore, Craig Wright was prosecuted for using fraudulent agreements and unauthorised signatures to obtain a bitcoin valuation of $5 billion from his former business associate Dave Kleiman. Gavin Andresen a Bitcoin developer even further verify Wright's statement, declaring that he seemed to be "98% optimistic" that Craig Wright was an identifier for Satoshi Nakamoto.

It is believed that Mr. Wright released a statement that says, “These coins are not my personal coins and I did not move them and as I have mentioned before I have no intent of dumping BTC or otherwise touching trust assets.” However, several others were prompt to disagree and Craig Wright’s statement sparked severe criticism from the online digital currency community. In the midst of a sudden wave of criticism, Wright removed his statement and decided to make a mysterious apology. “I’m sorry,” he stated, “I believed that I could put the years of anonymity and hiding behind me. But, as the events of this week unfolded and I prepared to publish the proof of access to the earliest keys, I broke. I do not have the courage.” This obviously indicates that Wright’s claim was totally erroneous.

Nick Szabo

Nick Szabo, a computer scientist known for his experiments in digital currencies, has frequently been considered the founder of Bitcoin, a statement he opposes. In the process of obtaining the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, there’s really one person who has been haunted over and over again: Nick Szabo, who was not only vital to the successful implementation of Bitcoin, but in the late ‘90s he also developed his own cryptocurrency known as “bit gold.” In 2014, a group of linguistic experts investigated Nakamoto’s works along with those of 13 upcoming Bitcoin developers. The findings, as they stated, were unquestionable. “The number of linguistic similarities between Szabo’s writing and the Bitcoin whitepaper is uncanny,” the investigators reported. “none of the other possible authors were anywhere near as good of a match.”

The article in the New York Times has also identified Szabo as the maker of Bitcoin. Szabo, who has chosen to express himself clearly and openly regarding the history of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technology has indeed been engaged in cryptocurrency since its inception. Though, Szabo fiercely disregarded those allegations in the New York Times story. It was considered that Nick Szabo and Craig Wright weren’t the only ones who’ve been recognised as the inventors of Bitcoin. There is still a lengthy list of people associated with the creation of Bitcoin, but thus far, they’ve all been silenced.

As well, the chief executive officer of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk declined to be Bitcoin’s inventor. At least 13 possible nominees are considered responsible for the development of Bitcoin. It has been almost ten years since the start of Bitcoin and the inventor is no close to be discovered. How could the creator of the world’s profitable digital currency want to stay private? Most importantly, it was discovered that experimenting with new systems of currency always has its legal consequences. If indeed the Bitcoin’s founder wishes to maintain some privacy, it would be for a justifiable reason. By preserving privacy, they have managed to prevent unforeseen legal repercussions, allowing their privacy liable for the success of the currency.

Besides that, one of the core concepts of the digital currency is highly decentralised cryptocurrency that is unaffected by prominent organisations. In Bitcoin’s earlier proposal, Nakamoto stated that… “what is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party.”

Why would a highly innovative and global cryptocurrency be created yet the founder remains completely anonymous without staying around to earn any financial reward? Satoshi Nakamoto’s mysterious work was predominantly surrounded by his inspirations. How could anyone develop a comprehensive and phenomenal cryptocurrency yet entirely vanish from its own achievements? In February 2009, Nakamoto stated that, “The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve. We have to trust them without privacy, trust them not to let identity thieves drain our accounts.” In one of Bitcoin’s discussions, it has been suggested that Nakamoto could be “a libertarian and hates corrupt rich people and politicians.” After the housing bubble burst in 2007, the cryptocurrency is believed to be developed as a way of undermining the morally dysfunctional banking system. Satoshi Nakamoto could indeed be considered the inventor of Bitcoin due to his mysterious motives.