What's the Future of Bitcoin without the Inventor?

[adaseb]

Satoshi's last post was something like “bitcoin is in good hands now”. And he left. Meaning that he knew the community would take over the development and research for bitcoin.

Segwit was basically an idea brought by the community and it was implemented years after his departure. This is no different than Apple surviving without Steve Jobs.
 

[Husires]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die. It is not a wish but it is a known fact that all humans will taste the sad and irreplaceable part of this life – death.

A dead person is one who does not speak. In our case, Satoshi's last post was about more than 13 years ago, and we cannot consider him influential now, even if he reappears. We can be sure that he is dead after about 70 years, because the science and knowledge he has indicates that his age may be between 20 years old and 40 years or 100 years if they were a group of developers.
The decentralized currency does not need the first developer and may be centralized in the first days, but over time it will inevitably be decentralized, which is what happened in Bitcoin.

[vv181]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be.

Technology, as you said, if there is something, it will simply be replaced.

What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die.

The effect of the founders could be felt if they are not available to in any way monitor the processes.

You are deeply mistaken, Satoshi has been long gone. Yet, Bitcoin still exists.

I don't have an in depth knowledge on how the open source software works, which has perhaps led me to more curiosity hence my question, yet I feel like Bitcoin still undergo some security guard and monitoring to safeguard it against the black-hats.

Can someone on this forum help me clarify (in simple terms) on some of the infrastructures or technologies put into the development of Bitcoin that can make it stand, forever?

Nothing lasts forever. The Bitcoin community, especially the developers, are the ones who maintain, develop, and test it. Everyone is indeed welcome to contribute, but it does not necessarily mean they can do whatever with the current codebase, there are rigorous processes to develop Bitcoin. We can't ensure if there are better and more efficient mechanisms that still have the same characteristics or are more innovative, bitcoin surely will lose its stand.

[Victorik]

Is like asking what the future of the computer system is without the inventor.
I do not think Bitcoin needs the inventor in other to survive anymore. Even the inventor do not have absolutely control over the network. Bitcoin is fully decentralized and open source

[Cookdata]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die. It is not a wish but it is a known fact that all humans will taste the sad and irreplaceable part of this life – death.

You are just a forum user like me, I don't know your color neither you know mine but we exist here through forum account system, that's the only way Satoshi has communicated with everyone here. He/she could be alive since he last seen here chilling and enjoying his holidays or he could be somewhere under 6 feet. However, no matter his status, bitcoin legacy will continue with our without him because if he as to be alive to day, even him can't take back control of bitcoin because it's fully decentralized, run by loyal communist and belong to the communist.

Despite that the Bitcoin technology was designed in an open source software – a source code that everyone, including me and you, can inspect, modify and enhance. The effect of the founders could be felt if they are not available to in any way monitor the processes.

I don't have an in depth knowledge on how the open source software works, which has perhaps led me to more curiosity hence my question, yet I feel like Bitcoin still undergo some security guard and monitoring to safeguard it against the black-hats.

Can someone on this forum help me clarify (in simple terms) on some of the infrastructures or technologies put into the development of Bitcoin that can make it stand, forever?

If you don't understand how open source work, then there is no need to find out, the best you can do to keep his legacy is to buy and hold it, make some transactions to see how pair to pair the electronic digital currency of bitcoin, that's the only way you can feel the impact of the founder. You can also run your own node to improve bitcoin decentralization.

Another you need to know is that, if Satoshi wee to be alive today, he don't can't change anything except he suggested which must come through a proposal, that's why we have many BIP as Bitcoin improvement proposal, toy can write to bitcoin community where you think they can improve and once it's been reviewed and accepted, a day will be scheduled for the soft fork so that all the miners and the nodes will get the latest update on the bitcoin network, that's bitcoin works, no some random place you can wake up to.change anything.

[Rruchi man]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die.

No way to know if Satoshi is a group or an individual, and even if they/he dies, it will not be noticed because they already made sure of it. During the creation of bitcoins, they/he knew that they wanted to remain anonymous. They already created it, so they do not need to be around for it to keep functioning. It will make no sense to make a system that will be dependent on them, and then expect it to remain for as long as possible when their human life is limited.

Bitcoin no longer needs the inventor(s) to be successful.

[348Judah]

Can someone on this forum help me clarify (in simple terms) on some of the infrastructures or technologies put into the development of Bitcoin that can make it stand, forever?

The system had already been created and the protocols were set in such a way that even ifbthe inventor does not comply to the ideal concensus, his operations will be rejected except of the protocols are changed which i also know that's not possible because people trust bitcoin and the blockchain technology network, thise infrastructures and development you're asking about are here with some of the examples:

Decentralization
Immutability

All the network protocols are what will make bitcoin last forever, we have seen many inventions which their developers are no more but still existing and serving it's purpose, bitcoin will always remain the same ever relevant digital currency in cryptocurrency even without Satoshi Nakamoto existing.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Well, as we all know, Bitcoin has been running for over or about 14 years now, the founder or founders of bitcoin in the person or persons of Satoshi Nakamoto were only available in the public space for only 2009 and some part of 2010, as from late 2010 going forward till date, No body has ever heard or read from him or them.

We don't even know if Satoshi Nakamoto was a singe man or a group of persons, But one thing we all should know is that, if bitcoin has been safely running for all this years without the founders intervention, rest assured that bitcoin will continue to run save and sound even when and while the founders are no more.

And besides, right now, we don't even know if Satoshi Nakamoto and every other key players in the founding of bitcoin is still alive, A Bitcoin wallet containing or holding over a million Bitcoins which is said to belong to Satoshi Nakamoto have been dormant for several years now, no single transaction has been recorded on that wallet for so many years now, so who knows if he - Satoshi, the founder of bitcoin, is still alive.

But regardless, Bitcoin is still here and running smoothly, Satoshi's absence is never and I believe will never become a problem to the existence of bitcoin.

[Finestream]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die. It is not a wish but it is a known fact that all humans will taste the sad and irreplaceable part of this life – death.

Despite that the Bitcoin technology was designed in an open source software – a source code that everyone, including me and you, can inspect, modify and enhance. The effect of the founders could be felt if they are not available to in any way monitor the processes.

I don't have an in depth knowledge on how the open source software works, which has perhaps led me to more curiosity hence my question, yet I feel like Bitcoin still undergo some security guard and monitoring to safeguard it against the black-hats.

Can someone on this forum help me clarify (in simple terms) on some of the infrastructures or technologies put into the development of Bitcoin that can make it stand, forever?

You are already living in the future in which Satoshi is no longer part of bitcoin as a developer or as an influential figure, and quite honestly I think bitcoin is doing very well without his input, which was part of his plan from the beginning, now regarding what can make bitcoin last forever I think you have a huge misconception, nothing stands forever, as eternal as fiat currencies may seem they have only be the dominant form of currency used all around the world since the seventies, and at some point the fiat system will have to evolve or crash, so despite how solid bitcoin can be, there is no way that it will last forever.

You are right in there. Bitcoin has even flourished more even without the monitoring of its own inventor. So it's clear to say that bitcoin will surely progress and hence will be adopted as a currency in the future. However, on the question if it's here to stay forever, well no one holds the future so right now, we can't really tell if it's going to last forever. But one thing certain, let's just enjoy the advantages and opportunities brought by bitcoin while it's still here in progress.

[Z-tight]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die.

Maybe with centralized altcoins it would matter if their founder leaves the project or can no longer contribute to it for any reason at all, but BTC is different, we only know who the creator is by a psuedonym, they also haven't been heard from in a long time and never have been seen, but BTC continues to grow in all of its aspects, so i believe that gives you the answer to your question. BTC works without anyone being in control, so Satoshi is not needed for BTC to grow or continue to develop.

[bluebit25]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die. It is not a wish but it is a known fact that all humans will taste the sad and irreplaceable part of this life – death.

Despite that the Bitcoin technology was designed in an open source software – a source code that everyone, including me and you, can inspect, modify and enhance. The effect of the founders could be felt if they are not available to in any way monitor the processes.

I don't have an in depth knowledge on how the open source software works, which has perhaps led me to more curiosity hence my question, yet I feel like Bitcoin still undergo some security guard and monitoring to safeguard it against the black-hats.

Can someone on this forum help me clarify (in simple terms) on some of the infrastructures or technologies put into the development of Bitcoin that can make it stand, forever?

I think this will help OP clarify, what do you think about the house that your parents built and then your parents passed away, what happens to that house? The problem is similar to this market, but the person who lays the foundation is the first brick to build a product that serves the needs of the intended use, and it will not stop developing until no one uses it anymore (this is difficult to exist until now and also a long story about the future) And moreover, the identity of Bitcoin's founder is always a big question for many people, but does it really matter because bitcoin is still growing stronger day by day without being influenced by that anonymous character? The difference between a decentralized product is not controlled by any object, so the problem that OP raised from the beginning is simply a limitation of understanding, it can be said that narrow and negative.

[icalical]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die. It is not a wish but it is a known fact that all humans will taste the sad and irreplaceable part of this life – death.

Despite that the Bitcoin technology was designed in an open source software – a source code that everyone, including me and you, can inspect, modify and enhance. The effect of the founders could be felt if they are not available to in any way monitor the processes.

I don't have an in depth knowledge on how the open source software works, which has perhaps led me to more curiosity hence my question, yet I feel like Bitcoin still undergo some security guard and monitoring to safeguard it against the black-hats.

Can someone on this forum help me clarify (in simple terms) on some of the infrastructures or technologies put into the development of Bitcoin that can make it stand, forever?

The fact that Bitcoin's Creator Satoshi Nakamoto just gone MIA shortly after Bitcoin has been launched and never make any development or addition by himself, proof that Bitcoin is truly decentralized and doesn't need the Original Creator. And I think that's what satoshi wanted, he made Bitcoin open source so everyone can make the good out of it, even he has gone.

[sokani]

What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die.

AFAIK, few years after Satoshi launched Bitcoin he abandoned his creation and disappeared into thin air, so it's as good as saying he's dead but his absence has no effect on the project. Bitcoin is an open source and decentralized protocol that's not controlled by any entity. It is a community driven project and whenever there's going to be any change on the source code, there must be a consensus, it must be voted and accepted by the community.

I feel like Bitcoin still undergo some security guard and monitoring to safeguard it against the black-hats.

You can put your mind at rest as the bitcoin network has never been hacked though minor bugs do appear from time to time which is always fixed.

[so98nn]

Somehow title did not match the OP, to be honest. I thought you were talking about the inventor, Satoshi, and how his existence or non-existence works for Bitcoin. In anyways is going great with him present or not as you know very well we still don't know who Satoshi is. The source code that he made has already proven its full-proofness and has been running well since then.

I think we need only on-going adaptive development for this code. Since its open to all the greatest developers are already contributing their knwoldeg for its further developments. That is how its gonna survive for the time to come. No one can really screw things up due to it's irreversible blockchain feature. The concept will keep running and thriving for ages.

[Blitzboy]

Bitcoin is bigger than everyone! Bitcoin's brilliance is that its not attached to its founders, whoever they are. It involves the community. Open-source? Consider it a public recipe where everyone can view the ingredients and procedures and offer improvements. Always changing and improving.

Now, security issues? Totally understand! However, this is cool: Bitcoin uses strong encryption and consensus. Multiple nodes double-check every move and transaction. This setup makes harmful intent difficult to pass. Bitcoin's longevity? Its design and caring people like you and me protect it. Consider this problem: what if everyone used Bitcoin only tomorrow? Imagine the chaos. Think about the possibility

[kryptqnick]

As was pointed out, Satoshi left the project a long time ago, and it's been going on without the inventor for more than a decade now. So yeah, there's no reason to believe that a creator's presence is needed for Bitcoin to function properly. There are other people working on its development, and if/when some of them leave/die, others can get involved, and it's totally fine. If we arrive at a point when nobody's doing any maintenance or development, I suppose it can eventually become a problem, but where there's demand, there will be a supply.

[jrrsparkles]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die. It is not a wish but it is a known fact that all humans will taste the sad and irreplaceable part of this life – death.

Despite that the Bitcoin technology was designed in an open source software – a source code that everyone, including me and you, can inspect, modify and enhance. The effect of the founders could be felt if they are not available to in any way monitor the processes.

I don't have an in depth knowledge on how the open source software works, which has perhaps led me to more curiosity hence my question, yet I feel like Bitcoin still undergo some security guard and monitoring to safeguard it against the black-hats.

Can someone on this forum help me clarify (in simple terms) on some of the infrastructures or technologies put into the development of Bitcoin that can make it stand, forever?

Its not just open source, its completely decentralized too so there is no central entity is controlling or upgrading or doing anything to the network. Its group of community upgrades the network if needed but most likely there won't be any change needed in the system and other issues can be related to mining can adjust on its own.

[Faisal2202]

I have been having some critical thinking lately on what the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will be. What will be the fate of Bitcoin should in case the founders of this great digital currency and assets die. It is not a wish but it is a known fact that all humans will taste the sad and irreplaceable part of this life – death.

Actually we don't really know if the founder of BTC (satoshi Nakamoto) is alive or dead. Because we don't know him and saw no activity from him for quite some time. But still, BTC has made it this far. How? Because BTC is being built by independent developers who propose development upgradations online and once they get enough votes to be implemented then the developers of BTC, integrate that upgradation.

Well to put it in simple words, either if one or two of the developers die, but BTC blockchain will still be going (working) because I don't think for the next 10 years we need some maintenance in the system. Again saying that's just a thought or you can say personal opinion.

Despite that the Bitcoin technology was designed in an open source software – a source code that everyone, including me and you, can inspect, modify and enhance. The effect of the founders could be felt if they are not available to in any way monitor the processes.

You can inspect but cannot modify the code on your own and with your own decisions, you have to comply with the rules.

[MFahad]

No one knows that the inventor of bitcoin is alive or not but according to news there is an information that the inventor of bitcoin has died. But still bitcoin is going as a successful asset because the nature of bitcoin is decentralized which means that nobody can control it.

Nobody knows that news about his life is trusted or not but its true that there is no reduction in the success of bitcoin because of its open source and anyone can easily get the related information. No one has ever met with the inventor of bitcoin for longer time therefore may be this news is correct. Bitcoin gives its holders maximum profit and hopefully it will be always greater and better than every other coins.

[ZAINmalik75]

Satoshi's last post was something like “bitcoin is in good hands now”. And he left. Meaning that he knew the community would take over the development and research for bitcoin.

Segwit was basically an idea brought by the community and it was implemented years after his departure. This is no different than Apple surviving without Steve Jobs.
 

You spoke my heart,  I was also going to use the same example, well, I don't think, now, after getting useful answers like this, OP need other suggestion but more suggestion or explanation is good every time. So, I would like to say, that BTC is dependent on some single entity and that's what makes it decentralized and free from middlemen, And it does not depend on the skills of some single or group of developers who can do whatever they want.

And I would like to add that Apple company can be shut down but I don't think that the BTC blockchain can ever be shut down, I mean, a board of members who have shared in Apple can make it shutdown or might rebrand the company but such things might not be seen in BTC blockchain.

Because, it is totally open source and AFAIK, the new improvements have to be voted by the community/miner. For the taproot and the Lighting network improvements which are made in the form of Soft fork and miner approved that. Without there approval nothing is possible. And those miners are decentralized.