Translation: Blockchain in VernacularFifteen years ago today, Satoshi Nakamoto (whose true identity remains a mystery) published their seminal white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” At just nine pages, the document provided a blueprint that reimagined how we should perceive and transfer value in the digital age. It delved into the intricacies of cryptographic hashing, the architecture of blocks, and the timing mechanisms used to maintain them. One of the main innovations of the white paper was its proposed Proof of Work (PoW) system. While not an invention of Satoshi Nakamoto, its application in the context of decentralized cryptocurrencies is novel. Building on ideas such as Adam Back’s “Hashcash,” the authors adapted the pre-existing concept of Proof of Work to solve the double-spending problem. This ensured that every transaction on the network was verified by consensus, without relying on a central authority. “Once CPU energy has been expended to satisfy the proof of work, the block cannot be changed without redoing the work. Since later blocks are chained after it, the work to change that block would include redoing all blocks after it,” Satoshi wrote in the white paper. The CEO of Luxor, a company that provides firmware for bitcoin mining and hashrate derivatives trading platforms, called Satoshi's vision "magical." "There's something magical about the bitcoin blockchain that it gets stronger and stronger over time... which is somewhat contrary to the laws of the universe. As things age, they generally degrade and get corrupted," Nick Hansen told Blockworks. "I think Satoshi probably foresaw this," Hansen added. Currently, the bitcoin blockchain is over 522 GB in size, essentially making any attempt to tamper with the distributed ledger futile. Hansen said he thinks Satoshi probably also saw a future where institutions and large companies would become the dominant players in bitcoin mining, especially as the network scales and computing demands grow. "Since Satoshi designed it very early on to be a global payment rail, I think it would be foolish to assume that the mining part of that ecosystem might not need to be done by large institutional-grade companies," Hansen said.“I would say, yes, he probably thought bitcoin mining would become a huge commodity business.” Nakamoto drew an analogy with gold mining in the “Incentives” section of the white paper, detailing how bitcoin would initially circulate. Essentially, “mining” refers to the process of verifying transactions on the network. “The steadily increasing number of new coins is analogous to gold miners expending resources to increase the circulation of gold. In our case, the expended resources are CPU time and electricity,” Nakamoto wrote. Satoshi may or may not have foreseen how bitcoin could be used to help those suffering under dictators. The Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a nonprofit advocating for human rights, sees bitcoin as a key weapon against authoritarianism. Its decentralized nature allows people under authoritarian regimes to transact outside the confines of government-controlled fiat currencies. To further support this cause, HRF’s Bitcoin Development Fund provides grants to innovators working to improve the bitcoin network. One notable beneficiary is the developer behind lnp2pBot, an initiative that enhances privacy by letting users convert dollars into bitcoin without KYC (know your customer) identification. Alex Gladstein, HRF’s chief strategy officer, told Blockworks that he is “much more bullish” on Bitcoin now because it has become easier to use since HRF first started using it in 2013. “The apps are better, they have a better user experience,” Gladstein said. “We have the Lightning Network, which we didn’t have back then, so instead of waiting about 10 minutes for confirmations, you can send Bitcoin (BTC) instantly. We have better privacy tools than before, which is very important for activists.” Gladstein also pointed out the odd choice of Satoshi Nakamoto to release the Bitcoin white paper on Oct. 31. It was the same day that, more than 500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his revolutionary 95 theses to a church door in protest of Catholicism. Luther’s arguments against the church first introduced the concept of the separation of religion and state, while the Bitcoin white paper advocates for the separation of money and state, Gladstein said.Another explanation for the release date could be that Halloween was a perfect fit for the man who would go on to become the most famous masked anonymous figure in the cryptocurrency space. Alternatively, there may not have been any particular reason for the specific date of October 31, other than perhaps coinciding with some of the worst declines in traditional stock market history. Either way, Satoshi’s thoughts, motivations, and intentions are likely to be fertile ground for speculation for years to come.

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