Part 2 - Chapters 10 through 20

---

As described in Part 1 of this book, there is fairly limited information with respect to the person that is Satoshi Nakamoto.  From social media speculations to falsehoods of people claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, it is difficult to know what are the facts or basis for claims to the person that is Satoshi Nakamoto.  

Believe what you may about the claims made in this written format.  I have tried to provide an accounting to the best of my recollection.  Is this author, yet one more voice claiming something that is unproven or without evidence?  Is this book merely a fictitious novel? Well, I suppose there would be skepticism along these lines.  I’ve already stated that I do not intend to reveal the person behind Satoshi Nakamoto for reasons elaborated upon in this book.   However, there will be information revealed that for some may be flavored commentary or make sense in the context of what is publicly available through early correspondence by the person that is Satoshi Nakamoto.  I’ll leave it to the reader after taking in all the information to make their own assessment.  

As mentioned, it does not serve the author nor Satoshi Nakamoto to come forward – no good can come of that.  Hence the anonymity of this writing.   What we all know from early available correspondence on public forums can be helpful in better understanding the person that is cloaked by the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto.  The following is not by any means an exhaustive description of publicly available information. It really only scratches the surface.  Perhaps future updates of this book will explore correspondences we know attributable to Satoshi Nakamoto in greater detail.  

Satoshi Nakamoto corresponded in the early set up of Bitcoin with others from behind a digital curtain.  A curtain that is not traceable to the user.  Hidden behind a curtain, identity undoubtably would have been leaked by now if there was any association whatsoever to a government agency.   From behind this curtain there has been a bread crumb trail of messages written by Satoshi Nakamoto before, during and shortly after the launch of bitcoin.  Then, radio silence.  Why complete silence, one might ask after a certain period?  It would be far too risky as technology advanced to keep the digital curtain intact.  

There is quite an extensive library of messages early on when bitcoin was first introduced and publicly known to be attributable to Satoshi Nakamoto.    These messages shed light to an extent on the person that is Satoshi Nakamoto.   For instance, a message by Satoshi Nakamoto reads:

“How Does everyone feel about the B symbol with the two lines through the outside? Can we live with that as our logo?”

Clearly not someone with a huge ego. This is someone that wants collaboration and feedback from the community in aspects of bitcoin to a certain extent.  To learn from others and incorporate their feedback. It is not just limited to something that might seem relatively trivial as the symbol for bitcoin but does extend into other more practical aspects.  Although, the vast majority of bitcoin was developed without extensive feedback from the community. Satoshi Nakamoto seemed to use this forum more as a sounding board for confirmation in areas than anything for substantial changes in direction that say a committee or tech group would serve purpose wise.    

Another quote from Satoshi Nakamoto correspondence reads: 

“There are legitimate places where it’s free.  Generation is basically free anywhere that has electric heat, since your computer’s heat is offsetting your baseboard electric heating.  Many small flats have electric heat out of convenience.”

We shouldn’t overlook this seemingly innocuous commentary on the energy use associated with Bitcoin - it is very significant.  Given the high energy use of mining bitcoin, it is notable that Satoshi Nakamoto would make a point of the energy use.   First, baseboard heat is not widely used everywhere. There are many alternatives to baseboard electric heat from natural gas and oil to boilers, radiated heat and furnace/duct systems to name a few.  The fact that Satoshi Nakamoto references baseboard electric heating together with the term “flats” are key indicators of influences in language as well living situation.  The term “flats” is not commonly used in America as “studio” or “small 1 bedroom” would be used more commonly.  The word “flats” together with the term use of “bloody” (elsewhere) begin to paint a picture of the language influence of Satoshi Nakamoto.  This use of unusual terms not commonly found in America, yet , used together with most of the language being American English are entirely consistent with my observations of Satoshi Nakamoto being in a ”flat”  and having baseboard electrical heat. The reference related to energy also speaks, I believe, to Satoshi Nakamoto’s interest in the broader societal costs and recognizing that energy plays a role in people’s freedom and ability to further themselves. Energy is a critical component in the living standard of whole communities and nations for that matter and I believe this was recognized by Satoshi Nakamoto. 

Another Satoshi Nakamoto correspondence reads:

I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.  The paper is available at:

http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

The main properties:

Double-spending is prevented with a  peer-to-peer network.

No Mint or other trusted parties.

Participants can be anonymous.

New coins are made from Hashcash style proof-0f-work.

The proof-of-work for new coin generation also powers the network to prevent double-spending.

Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System

Abstract.   [refer to link]

One of the key takeaways with the provided highlights list from Satoshi Nakamoto is “No Mint or other trusted parties”.  It is clearly of critical importance to Satoshi Nakamoto that Bitcoin be decentralized and not something that is dependent upon any single government, person, or entity.  The “Mint” in this case is in reference to currency production.  The idea is that bitcoin would not rely on currency production by any single source.  It would come from many sources and be checked and double checked by the fundamental and underlying basis for Bitcoin.  Also, of note is this production would be by participants that can remain anonymous, or at least that was the intent upon creation of the Bitcoin electronic system. 

Another interesting correspondence by Satoshi Nakamoto reads:

“Before strong encryption, users had to rely on password protection to secure their files, placing trust in the system administrator to keep their information private.”  

This is an initial important goal of the use case for Bitcoin with having it decentralized.  Bitcoin in theory would not be reliant on any government, entity or other person to entrust one’s own Bitcoin holdings or trusting of passcodes.  Although some of the initial and early adopters of Bitcoin have this independence, most new transactions do involve other parties and rely on the trust of those other parties are acting in the holders best interest.  However, in recent years with most Bitcoin exchange transactions involving third parties that may or may not be sacred and trusted some have lost much, if not all, of their holdings to unscrupulous parties.  This is evidenced by some businesses not properly holding in trust or transacting in valid and responsible ways.   There has been limited regulatory oversight in some countries while other countries have no oversight.  

The lack of regulatory oversight in some countries have inevitably created opportunities for unscrupulous and nefarious activities.  This reliance on other parties, contrary to the vision, has materialized as the main means for transactions.  This requires the placement of trust in a system administrator as well as the bitcoin custodian.  This aspect of strong encryption is only as secure as the trust in humans overseeing the companies, entities and governments involved in the holding and transacting of Bitcoin on behalf of others.  

Many of these quips by Satoshi Nakamoto were made as quick responses to other’s inquiry on some topic. Sort of an off the cuff casual means of communication.   It is fun to the author of this book to explore these as they really get inside the mind of the person that is Satoshi Nakamoto.  Frankly, I could go on for many pages along these lines.  However, will leave the reader with this final message more relatable to the protocol that is bitcoin. It is fundamental to the integrity of bitcoin and at the heart of what makes bitcoin unique and relatively secure at its core.  

“Blocks can only contain transactions that depend on valid transactions in previous blocks or the same block.”  

Unless you’re able to time travel, this makes bitcoin extraordinarily difficult to break.  The blockchain is a forward processing mechanism that is irreversible and provides confirmation along the way.  This is the part that grabbed my attention early on and will be discussed later in this book.  It also provided a key piece of the puzzle for me that I had only realized in later years.  That I had actually crossed paths with the person that came to be known as Satoshi Nakamoto given my conversations prior to the release of the published Bitcoin White Paper.