What could have Satoshi faced if he made himself known from the beginning

[EarnOnVictor]

I must say that I'm now a Bitcoin addict and an ardent fan/supporter of Satoshi Nakamoto and the good initiative Bitcoin technology has brought to the world. But there are these questions that have been ringing in my head day and night as I continue to be curious about this man/men that brought this revolution to the financial space.

I would like people to furnish me with their views even though I personally believe that he would have been haunted by the world governments at the initial stage.

What could have been his fate if he made himself known from the beginning? And later after Bitcoin is recognized?

[Lucius]

What could have been his fate if he made himself known from the beginning? And later after Bitcoin is recognized?

Satoshi was intelligent enough to realize that revealing his identity would not only be dangerous for his security, but also have serious implications for how Bitcoin would be perceived by the public. I cannot say whether he had a plan to disappear at some point, but what we know is that some of his associates at that time began to be very critical of Satoshi making too many decisions independently, which may have been the trigger for his withdrawal from the public.

We cannot know what Bitcoin would be like today if Satoshi was still around, but his identity is less important, unless he was directly or indirectly connected to some institutions that are not popular with the public. The fact that Bitcoin has the highest trust and that it did not disappear as some predicted it may best speak in favor of the fact that Satoshi did a good job - and that is the most important thing.

[bittraffic]

What could have been his fate if he made himself known from the beginning? And later after Bitcoin is recognized?

Bitcoin is a threat to the monetary system and the government itself. If from the beginning he just shows himself up, Bitcoin wouldn't grow. BTC will die just like the previous projects before Bitcoin such as the Digital Cash of David Chaum in the 90s. It will be shut down by powerful individuals collaborating with the government or will have no supporters as BTC will not be recognized.

Satoshi leaving and making it opensource I think was the key but also allows developers to create altcoins. If BTC is recognized by the community while Satoshi is around, he'd face serious threats. He wouldn't last a year.

[Zanab247]

Satoshi Nakamoto knew that there will be crisis in the future that will make the government to force him to handover the Bitcoin to the government so that the government will be the one to control it all over the world, that made him to hide his personal details till now. Satoshi Nakamoto knew that the  government would have celebrate him well, assume he made his identity public in the beginning, and by now the government would have make him to regret in this season of high inflation that is affecting the whole world. I celebrate Satoshi Nakamoto for the potential knowledge he used to break down many protocols to made Bitcoin available for the world.

[pawanjain]

I must say that I'm now a Bitcoin addict and an ardent fan/supporter of Satoshi Nakamoto and the good initiative Bitcoin technology has brought to the world. But there are these questions that have been ringing in my head day and night as I continue to be curious about this man/men that brought this revolution to the financial space.

I would like people to furnish me with their views even though I personally believe that he would have been haunted by the world governments at the initial stage.

What could have been his fate if he made himself known from the beginning? And later after Bitcoin is recognized?

He would have been probably dead because mainstream organizations would have played some dirty politics on him.
He would have been tortured by gangsters so that they can steal all his coins.
He would have been heavily criticized by people who lost their money in bitcoins.
The real world is cruel and there is no space for good people like Satoshi in this world.
I don't mean to harm anyone's feelings but the current society we live in isn't a place for good people.

[Flexystar]

I would not say he would have been haunted, but I believe he would have kneeled before to make agreements with world governments to alter the destiny of blockchain. He would have been richest guy and most probably well above Mr. Elon Musk right now, so definitely government would have been keenly involved with  him on the other matters such as government campaigns, donations and under the table and what not.

I think I am imagining him as role model for every youth, and follow the leadership of him. I mean people literally follow Elon and his small band of few coins now and then.

Now imagine, what a tweet from Mr. Satoshi Nakomoto could have done? Definitely he would have embraced with ultimate powers and ideology.

[DeathAngel]

He could have been targeted by thieves, hell even government agents could have been trying to ‘suicide him.’
He would have been accosted by media, hangers on, he would have unwanted publicity. It works best for him & bitcoin in general that he remains anonymous. He may even be dead, I don’t think we’ll ever know & in my opinion it is best that way.

[jossiel]

He'll be taken quickly by the FBI or any syndicate that see his worth about his creation and the wealth, money that he has made.

But since he's a genius, he doesn't want to compromise his safety and identity in the public because he probably have foreseen these bad things might happen to him.

He can be abducted, kidnapped or anything that he can imagine of being done to him just for those bad people to take advantage of him.

[serjent05]

I must say that I'm now a Bitcoin addict and an ardent fan/supporter of Satoshi Nakamoto and the good initiative Bitcoin technology has brought to the world. But there are these questions that have been ringing in my head day and night as I continue to be curious about this man/men that brought this revolution to the financial space.

I would like people to furnish me with their views even though I personally believe that he would have been haunted by the world governments at the initial stage.

What could have been his fate if he made himself known from the beginning? And later after Bitcoin is recognized?

Well, you can take Vitalik Buterin as an example since ETH is the next popular cryptocurrency in the Industry. 

So what happens to Vitalik Buterin?  Is he endangered?  Got kidnapped?  Got criticized by the government?  Or is he well-acknowledged? Respected? And has authority over the Ethereum network?   I bet if Satoshi Nakamoto made himself known from the beginning, he would have experienced the same thing that Vitalik Buterin has experienced.

There are lots of crypto developers that are already known to the public, I believe Satoshi Nakamoto will also face the same thing as the developer of Bitcoin. 

He'll be taken quickly by the FBI or any syndicate that see his worth about his creation and the wealth, money that he has made.

But since he's a genius, he doesn't want to compromise his safety and identity in the public because he probably have foreseen these bad things might happen to him.

He can be abducted, kidnapped or anything that he can imagine of being done to him just for those bad people to take advantage of him.

And why is another cryptocurrency developer such as Buterin isn't taken by the FBI or syndicate?  I think we exaggerated things, thinking too many nefarious things will happen to Satoshi if ever he revealed himself from the beginning.


On a negative note, I think Satoshi is already dead, silenced by the authority thinking that Bitcoin will somehow stop propagating once Satoshi is killed.  That was just my assumption and does not bear any concrete evidence. Though I hope he is still alive somewhere enjoying his riches from selling BTC.  The one that is saved on an address that is not public.

[KingsDen]

What could have been his fate if he made himself known from the beginning? And later after Bitcoin is recognized?

For Satoshi to be able to hide his identity right from the beginning of the creation of Bitcoin made me to understand that the project called bitcoin is a well-calculated and well conceived idea.
It is not a product of coincidence or a product of a hungry investor, he must have envisaged the disadvantages of revealing his identity even before creating bitcoin.

Apart from his personal safety which might have made him died before his time, the safety of this bitcoin would also have been jeopardized. What would have triggered the much conflict is knowing that he is not from the United States.
But his anonymity has solved the whole problems that would have arose. That is a really good and genuine Legacy that is left by the wise discoverer for us to maintain.

[jossiel]

He'll be taken quickly by the FBI or any syndicate that see his worth about his creation and the wealth, money that he has made.

But since he's a genius, he doesn't want to compromise his safety and identity in the public because he probably have foreseen these bad things might happen to him.

He can be abducted, kidnapped or anything that he can imagine of being done to him just for those bad people to take advantage of him.

And why is another cryptocurrency developer such as Buterin isn't taken by the FBI or syndicate?  I think we exaggerated things, thinking too many nefarious things will happen to Satoshi if ever he revealed himself from the beginning.

Good thought though.

I think it's because crypto is mainstream these days and when Vitalik has made Ethereum, there's already that idea that it's not that big at all so, FBI or any agency wasn't interested back then.

But you're right, I think I was just exaggerating things for that's what I've absorbed also with some opinions before but then at the end of the day we will never know who satoshi is.

[Hydrogen]

This might be answered by past history where american politicians and others have requested big tech corporations like apple to change encryption standards on iphones to make it easier for law enforcement to gain access to locked phones of suspects under investigation.

Had Satoshi been known, he would have been visited by intelligence agencies of the world. Who would request that he code a backdoor into bitcoin. Or use an intelligence agency approved encryption cipher. I would guess the tone of the conversation would go something like that. Satoshi would either agree or decline. And who knows what would happen afterwards.

It is possible that the details of David Kleiman's unfortunate passing (R.I.P.) where his body was found in a wheelchair with a trail of blood stemming from illness and infection with a loaded pistol nearby. It might represent the way that the real Satoshi left this world.

[mrongoz_imut]

He could have been targeted by thieves, hell even government agents could have been trying to ‘suicide him.’
He would have been accosted by media, hangers on, he would have unwanted publicity. It works best for him & bitcoin in general that he remains anonymous. He may even be dead, I don’t think we’ll ever know & in my opinion it is best that way.

It is very true as you said that if Satoshi made himself famous earlier and showed himself in front of the public, Satoshi would definitely face a lot of trouble, he would become the target of the government, he would also receive threats from the government, and Satoshi would also be targeted by people. entrepreneurs who don't like bitcoin and their business is hampered because of bitcoin for sure Satoshi's life is threatened, bitcoin also would not have survived to this day if Satoshi made himself famous earlier.

[PrivacyG]

Interrogation, death or imprisonment and ultimately Bitcoin's death by pulling the plant straight from the roots.  They would have made Bitcoin seem like it comes out of a criminal background.  I am not so documented on the Ulbricht case, but I imagine it would have ended similarly.  I do not think it is hard for a government to plant false evidence and turn your entire life upside down.  Mainstream media has a great history of whirling up stories and causing panic.

At that point, anything would have become a target and an issue.  Is Nakamoto a Republican or Democrat?  Has Nakamoto ever had ANY kind of history tied to Russia or ever showed the slightest sign of supporting and appreciating them?  Since he is anonymous, nobody can care.  You can not hate on him because you know nothing about him besides that he is a rebel.

They would also easily spin up any word he would have publicly said.  It is easy to mess up a public speech or say something that easily gets misunderstood or taken out of context.  Long story short.  Bitcoin would of stood zero chance if Nakamoto was a public figure.

-
Regards,
PrivacyG

[Welsh]

I'm not sure what they would've faced exactly. However, what Bitcoin would have faced is something it'd be associated with forever. Satoshi probably did right in disassociating himself from Bitcoin, because it further enhanced the decentralised feel. It wasn't connected to an identity that you could nitpick. Any dirt on Satoshi, would've automatically transferred to Bitcoin, and potentially tainting its reputation forever.

Without that association; you effectively have nothing. Everything can only be speculation, and that's not solid enough to effect the reputation of Bitcoin. Something which currently Bitcoin requires to build any sort of momentum. I don't think that'll always be the case to a certain extent, but at the moment any positive news usually gets users excited, and any negative news causes a little bit of a panic.

[Darker45]

I don't think Satoshi would be hunted by world governments had he/she/they made himself/herself/themselves known at the very beginning. This some kind of Satoshi hunting that is happening now is primarily because of curiosity. And this curiosity stems from Satoshi being completely anonymous and his/her/their decision to vanish. We badly want to unravel this mystery that is Satoshi Nakamoto. Another probable reason why Satoshi could be hunted down is his/her/their huge Bitcoin stash.

If we look at Bitcoin's predecessors like David Chaum's eCash, Adam Back's Hashcash, Nick Szabo's Bit Gold, Wei Dai's B-Money, they're simply being treated as modern technological innovations and their inventors or developers, although trying to disrupt the system, are not really hunted down by whatever government agency.

However, it is also a big factor that these early attempts are not as successful as Bitcoin. But I think a significant part of Bitcoin's success is owed to Satoshi Nakamoto deciding to leave.

[Wexnident]

Bias on the project if his/her peers knew who they were I guess? It isn't something big (I think, but we'll never know) but I feel like Satoshi would've liked the start to have really started from 0, and spread from there slowly instead of using influence to market it out as something big. It may have brought about the likes of Craig in the picture, but it's still ultimately for the better that Satoshi let his name stay unknown. In the end, the only thing we can do right now is speculating but there's no hard evidence after all, which is imo best suits what he envisioned for Bitcoin.

I suppose there'd also be some negative aspects of it, such as threats with how Bitcoin grew, but I don't think he stayed anonymous with that in mind really, I think that mindset would've only appeared when Bitcoin grew to how big it was today (or even a few years ago).

[ChiBitCTy]

The entire planet. I’m convinced that he had always planned to come and go just as he did because it doesn’t put a face behind bitcoin, doesn’t put a singular person “in charge” of it which is obviously a good thing for a number of reasons.  I’m not sure it would have ever stood a chance anyway else personally.

[darkangel11]

He'd have to quickly make himself unknown

I've said it many times before. Satoshi's presence would be dangerous for himself and bad for bitcoin's image.
How would bitcoin users react if the news came out that he was arrested? How would they react if he was charged with assault, or if you were to learn that he was ill?
People would have all sorts of theories that he'd sell his coins to buy a lawyer, or that he's spending it on hospital bills. People would try to get favors from him, rob him, blackmail him. There would be people with cameras lurking around just to get some dirt on him, people going through his trash to find some personal things of his. He'd be a loved and hated like most celebrities.

It's good that he values his privacy. Good for us and for him.

[cabron]

This might be answered by past history where american politicians and others have requested big tech corporations like apple to change encryption standards on iphones to make it easier for law enforcement to gain access to locked phones of suspects under investigation.

Had Satoshi been known, he would have been visited by intelligence agencies of the world. Who would request that he code a backdoor into bitcoin. Or use an intelligence agency approved encryption cipher. I would guess the tone of the conversation would go something like that. Satoshi would either agree or decline. And who knows what would happen afterwards.

It is possible that the details of David Kleiman's unfortunate passing (R.I.P.) where his body was found in a wheelchair with a trail of blood stemming from illness and infection with a loaded pistol nearby. It might represent the way that the real Satoshi left this world.

Tragic end for someone who won't give in to the government. RIP. This is the most possible way and it's why Greenpeace was requesting to change the code of BTC. Stories like these have been happening even in the time of Nichola Tesla who has a different view of the world to distributing electricity for free.

Disappearing without a trace and losing businesses to mysterious death can happen to Satoshi and usually, the cover-up is far worse.