Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin => Bitcoin Discussion => Topic started by: edlund on February 26, 2014, 04:24:54 PM



Title: Nick Szabo: Bitcoin is an implementation of my bit gold idea.
Post by: edlund on February 26, 2014, 04:24:54 PM
This article (https://likeinamirror.wordpress.com/2013/12/01/satoshi-nakamoto-is-probably-nick-szabo/) famously proposed that Szabo is Satoshi.

Even if Szabo is not Satoshi, Szabo said that bitcoin is an implementation of his bit gold idea as early as May 2009 (http://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2009/05/liar-resistant-government.html):
Bit gold, my sketch of an electronic currency that minimally relies on trust in any one person or organization, achieves this minimal vulnerability by using secure property titles. Satoshi Nakamoto has implemented BitCoin which very similarly uses a dense Byzantine fault tolerant peer-to-peer network and and cryptographic hash chains to ensure the integrity of a currency.

Szabo wrote in January 2011 (http://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2011/01/tech-roundup-012211.html):
Bitcoin, an implementation of the bit gold idea (and another example of where the order of events is important), continues to be popular.

Szabo defended Bitcoin in July 201 (http://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2011/06/of-wages-and-money-cost-as-proxy.html)1, after it has been attacked by critics:
But insisting that gold, silver, shells, online payment systems or currencies, etc. must be useful for some other purpose, such as decoration, before they can be used as money, is a terrible confusion, akin to insisting that an insurance service must start out as useful for something else, perhaps for stabling horses, before one can write the insurance contracts. Indeed many of us value precious metals and shells for decoration more for a reverse reason, which I explain in the above-linked essay on the origins of money. ...

Bron said... I assume this comment "But insisting that gold, silver, shells, online payment systems or currencies, etc. must be useful for some other purpose, such as decoration, before they can be used as money, is a terrible confusion" is directed at those critical of bitcoin eg this thread http://mises.org/Community/forums/t/9853.aspx?PageIndex=1

nick said... Yes, that commentary and many others, alas.

Even if Szabo was not Satoshi, you can only benefit from reading Szabo's works, because they are genius.


Title: Re: Nick Szabo: Bitcoin is an implementation of my bit gold idea.
Post by: Sheldor333 on February 26, 2014, 05:29:58 PM
Didn't know about that. Din't really look into theories who was Satoshi. Glad you mentioned this guy, I'll try to look into it.