Chapter 1 - Introduction

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Chapter 1

Introduction

Where to start?  To be clear, the author here is no expert on Bitcoin.  The point of this book is more about the person behind the curtain that is Bitcoin.  And to have an understanding of the character that is Satoshi Nakamoto it’s important to understand the basics of what Bitcoin is and how it was intended to work going forward from its inception.  Thus, this introduction and subsequent chapters attempt to provide some basics on Bitcoin.  Written from the perspective of a novice and not one in any way claiming to be an expert in the formulation of Bitcoin or what has transpired in the intervening years since being made available. 

Additionally, this book is not intended to be one about Bitcoin value, where it has been or where it will end up.  Nor is this book intended to cover its protocols, its security, or whether a person should purchase, sell or hold bitcoin.  It is a book about Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudo name for the person that created bitcoin.  To that end, it is important to understand certain basic principles about bitcoin so one can better understand the person behind its creation.  

Fundamentally, bitcoin is about decentralization of a currency in its most basic sense.  The original vision was all of humanity at some point having the ability to transact and/or store value in a digital world without relying on the trust of a third party such as a bank or other financial institution.  In other words, creating a means through secure “blockchain” and transacting directly between two parties, one sending and one receiving.  More on blockchain later, but apart from banks, financial institutions, governments, or other third-party entities one would control how and when it was used securely, quickly and efficiently at minimal transacting cost or impediment.  This has been a mixed bag to this end thus far.  Some governments downright outlaw it, while others control its use to a high extent and others are just beginning to regulate the who, what, how and when of it.  

Bitcoin is essentially built off of coding and a network across the internet that allows for checks and verification of what’s termed a “blockchain”.  In its most basic form, blockchains are essentially a grouping of numbers that complete a block and then is verified across many nodes throughout the decentralized network.  This verification of the blockchain creates a bitcoin transaction or mined bitcoin which then can be parsed or further transacted by persons having whole or partial ownership of the bitcoin.  

There would be much to explain here in how bitcoin works in detail, how one can purchase it or use it and there are numerous books, movies and internet writings describing all these aspects. How someone or companies can mine bitcoin by way of hard drives and computing power have all been covered well by others.     These aspects will be touched on but again are not the focus of this writing.  For now, the essential part of this is knowing that the blockchain for bitcoin is on ledgers with many people having access to the same ledger showing confirmed blocks and thus cannot be altered by any one individual or even many individuals.  This provides a level of security and integrity in its use and public transparency that is simply not afforded in typical FIAT (traditional currencies) or financial institutions.  

The focus herein is this vision for a new world of decentralized currency and the person behind it referred to as Satoshi Nakamoto.  How successful Bitcoin ultimately becomes is yet to be written.   Although, it has to be acknowledged Bitcoin already has exceeded well over $1 Trillion market cap in a relatively short period of time (about 15 years).  Beyond pure market value, Bitcoin has brought upon much change in many areas including other potential uses of the blockchain.  

Lastly, in introducing this writing, please understand it has been written, edited, compiled and posted all by one person.  Unfortunately, in the effort to remain anonymous, there inevitably will be compromises in quality due to this limitation and lack of other eyes on the material prior to publishing.  I’ve done the best I can to accurately reflect my experiences and knowledge on the subject matter.