Satoshi Nakamoto will be remembered in history as one the greats alongside inventors and scientists such as Tesla and Salk, even if their identity is never revealed. I mentioned those two names for a specific reason.
Like Tesla this individual is an eccentric genius, and their invention will revolutionize the world. In Tesla's day as the electric grid was slowly built out over many decades, most people didn't quite understand or see the potential of having electricity in every home. They did not and could not see the lives we live today. The existence of the electrical grid gave rise to THOUSANDS of new inventions, that would not exist, if not for the existence of the electric grid. Even the inventors of these inventions, would not have foreseen the invention of the key basic ingredient that would allow them to even THINK about their own invention.
I see block-chain being as revolutionary as AC current, and btc is just one implementation of a block-chain. I'm not saying that in the future we'll have star-drives, and flying cars, and free money. However with block-chain one can appreciate the depth and magnitude of the 'invention' even if one doesn't know how exactly to use it and what to do with it.
I also mentioned Salk, again for a specific reason. Did Salk (& team) invent or discover the polio vaccine? I think it's a bit of both. Computer scientists like microbiologists invent things (algorithms) which are based upon recombining things occurring in nature (mathematics). After Salk invented his vaccine, he gave it away. He did not try to monopolize his invention for personal wealth and fortune. Nakamoto has done the same. One could argue that he had to give it away, otherwise it would never go anywhere etc. etc. and giving it away was the smart thing to do. Hind-sight is 20/20. As anybody that has designed anything will tell you, it is difficult to step back from your design and divorce your ego from the fruit of your intellectual labor.
Finally Nakamoto's "fortune" in btc will never be spent, and this is the main reason I'm writing this piece today. This is the single act that will put Nakamoto in league with history's greats. However I have to make a fundamental assumption: that Nakamoto is not spending their coins, and not seeking publicity out of their own volition and for an overarching reason.
To me Nakamoto's original, unspent, "lost" hoard is a design choice. It's like the "lost treasure". It exists to attract interest to the btc blockchain. Lot's of people are thinking to themselves "i wish I had satoshi's coins". Satoshi will never spend his coins, because those coins are meant to be, to use a inappropriate term "hacked". They are essentially unclaimed coins in the public domain, and if you can figure out and solve the problem of getting to those coins then there is a big reward in it for you.
I was a long time btc skeptic (from an economic perspective). Recent events in the world made me look into btc, and now I've become a convert.
During the last financial crisis there were many countries that were essentially insolvent, and looking at using the currencies of a different country to replace their national currency. Iceland was looking at using the Canadian dollar instead of their krona. In the end they didn't do anything, and Iceland still has it's own sovereign currency.
However who's to say that the next financial meltdown will not result in adoption of btc as a national currency in some sovereign jurisdiction ? It can happen with the stroke of a pen. There are over 190 sovereign jurisdictions in the world.
Argentina HABITUALLY devalues their currency and defaults on their debts. I can't think of a country more in need of btc than Argentina. The infrastructure, markets, trust is all there, ready and available for any daring state to switch over to btc as official currency.
I cannot think of a more ground-breaking discovery than bitcoin and block-chain since the turn of the 21st century. Some might say that I'm being hyperbolic but I think it is going to be difficult to overstate the impact of block-chain.
To quote the great Dr. Ron Paul: " An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government."
I mean NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES, are you fucking serious ???!?? I don't see anybody under 35 in most post-industrial economies being invested or interested in keeping the rotten edifice of the existing central-banking kleptocracy propped up with their blood, sweat and tears.
Bitcoin will shatter empires.
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