The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery. Could he be Nick Szabo?
Written by: Robert D. Knight, CoinTelegraph
Translated by: Bai Shui, Golden Finance
A new HBO documentary that aired on October 8 suggests it has discovered the true Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin.
While this may be a marketing tactic, the claim has reignited speculation about who the inventor of Bitcoin might be.
Some believe that Nick Szabo could be the real Satoshi Nakamoto. He is an American cryptographer, legal scholar, and computer scientist who has made significant contributions to the blockchain field since the early 1990s.
That said, Szabo contributed to blockchain before Bitcoin emerged.
Szabo graduated from the University of Washington in 1989 with a degree in computer science. He also holds a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School.
In 1994, Szabo introduced the term "smart contract," bringing legal protections into the digital realm through code. Smart contracts later became foundational to the broader blockchain industry.
In 1998, Szabo proposed a new form of currency called "bit gold." Szabo's bit gold was different from other currencies because it was entirely digital, required no intermediaries, and solved the double-spending problem through proof of work.
Szabo's bit gold network used a proof-of-work cryptographic solution chain but relied on address legal numbers rather than computational power legal numbers to achieve consensus. This reportedly made bit gold susceptible to Sybil attacks.
Szabo continued to describe the rationale for his theoretical currency: "Long ago, I thought of the idea of bit gold. In short, the problem is that our money currently relies on trust in third parties to obtain its value. As many instances of inflation and hyperinflation in the 20th century have shown, this is not an ideal state."
If you are familiar with Bitcoin and all of this sounds familiar, you are not the only one to notice the similarities. Bit gold is widely regarded as one of the main precursors to Bitcoin.
In October 2008, ten years after Szabo first proposed "bit gold," Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper.
Speculation about Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity is almost as old as Bitcoin itself, but over the years, many contenders have emerged, with Szabo being the most popular.
HBO Documentary
The inventor of Bitcoin may still be a mystery, but a new HBO documentary claiming to finally reveal Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity has sparked speculation on the prediction market Polymarket.
Source: Polymarket
Len Sassaman was an early top contender, but Szabo has gained a clear lead. His odds are in double digits, while other contenders remain in single digits.
There are several reasons why Nick Szabo is considered to be Satoshi Nakamoto, some of which we have already mentioned.
The first is the invention of bit gold, a cryptocurrency proposed by Nick Szabo that was never realized, but it shares many conceptual similarities with Bitcoin. While the concept of bit gold is somewhat rough compared to Bitcoin, given that Szabo had a decade to refine these rough edges, isn't it possible he could have done so?
The second is Szabo's broader contributions to blockchain and cryptocurrency, demonstrating his capability and value. There is no doubt that Szabo possesses the technical ability to be a contender for Satoshi Nakamoto.
In his book "Bitcoin: The Future of Money?", author Dominic Frisby argues that Szabo's writing style is very similar to that of Satoshi Nakamoto. Additionally, both have quoted economist Carl Menger.
It is well known that Szabo is very privacy-conscious, and Satoshi Nakamoto is said to have similar tendencies.
Finally, Szabo has denied being Satoshi Nakamoto at every turn, in stark contrast to those who claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto. If history teaches us one thing about Satoshi Nakamoto, it is that those who claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto are almost certainly not.
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