If Satoshi saw today’s Bitcoin, would he call it a failure?

[Cookdata]

We’ve always said, especially us early adopters, that Bitcoin is decentralized money meant to cut out third parties, to give us a way to move funds freely without the government watching or banks handling every transaction. But looking at the situation now, yeah, Bitcoin has grown fast and become really valuable…

I don’t have exact numbers, but I’m pretty sure most Bitcoin is sitting in centralized exchanges or ETFs, basically the new Wall Street. And the one thing we all hated before, KYC it’s everywhere now, not just in exchanges but even on gambling sites.

Satoshi’s vision was peer-to-peer transactions, yet most of today’s activity goes through centralized platforms.

So the question is, do you think Satoshi would be happy with where Bitcoin is now? yes, it’s valuable, but the original goal doesn’t seem fully achieved.

Who says Satoshi isn't alive? What if he is in this thread reading everyone opinions?

The things is by default whitepaper of Bitcoin, everything that is happening around Bitcoin is different, like the concept is totally different from what we are seeing right now. Centralized exchanges are the main adopters of new people instead of Bitcoin and people prefer altcoins more than Bitcoin, people want to do KYC than preserving their privacy, some people don't even know the power of privacy because they were never thought one from beginning.

There has been a develop that has helped Bitcoin in some ways but half of it isn't really be helpful. To think that people like it when institutional investors came in to buy but they will have to use Banks and other centralized things to buy. Only few things are developed as open source, the rest are hidden which beat the objective and existence of Bitcoin. If Satoshi could reveal itself, I'm very sure that he is going to address it but he will not for the safety of Bitcoin.

[Jegileman]

Yes, Satoshi will be very happy because bitcoin still maintain being decentralized, just that people are the ones that like to use the centralized platforms for it.

Satoshi will be very happy that bitcoin is actually getting more used and traction than it was when it was invented many years ago by him. I am very certain that he’s happy now to see how far Bitcoin has come and would confidently say that bitcoin will continue to rise and get more adoption. The decentralized nature of bitcoin still remain but seeing in some part of it being affected by centralization, it cannot fully be replaced or altered. There was no way that a decentralized system will remain without being affected by the centralised system, so that’s what we are experiencing now but bitcoin has really achieved a lot and still remains decentralized.

[Swordsoffreedom]

So the question is, do you think Satoshi would be happy with where Bitcoin is now? yes, it’s valuable, but the original goal doesn’t seem fully achieved.

It's true that bitcoin has gone astray and hasn't achieved its original goals, but at least it has received a warm reception from the masses. More importantly, it has brought many benefits to people and changed their lives in a more positive direction even when not used for its original purpose. Bitcoin has changed many people's lives and will continue to help many more in the future. So I think Satoshi probably wouldn't be too disappointed with what bitcoin has achieved because at least it has brought a lot of benefits to the world in many different ways.

Just because it is not used for the original purpose for which it was created does not mean it failed, that is evolution, that is adaptation.

[HelliumZ]

There is no confirmed news yet about whether Satoshi is alive or dead, but if he is alive and comes to the fore, then you certainly can't  but be happy about the current state of Bitcoin.
He would be really happy to know that his invention, Bitcoin, is now so popular and used everywhere. He would be truly delighted to know that his discovery is being held in a strategic reserve in a country around the world.

[freedomgo]

There is no confirmed news yet about whether Satoshi is alive or dead, but if he is alive and comes to the fore, then you certainly can't  but be happy about the current state of Bitcoin.
He would be really happy to know that his invention, Bitcoin, is now so popular and used everywhere. He would be truly delighted to know that his discovery is being held in a strategic reserve in a country around the world.

Well, he could be happy, of course, especially since he’s holding a massive amount of supply. But being happy isn’t really the main point here. He could be happy and disappointed at the same time if he sees that what’s happening now isn’t what he originally envisioned which is the real anonymity, decentralization, and so on, because regulations are killing that.

And about that strategic reserve thing, it’s the government. They adopt it because they’ve already regulated the market.

[Odogwu-Blockchain]

Satoshi vision is accomplished and so the essence of centralization is the opportunity businessmen sighted to achieve greater rewards out of it by controlling the less knowledgeable individuals for their advantage.

Until these individuals understand fully the main purpose of decentralization and stick to it to be out of the bondage.

If there is any way the centralized system can take over everything is destroying the self authority by every holders, which isn't possible and so the Satoshi would be more happy that the system can't be tampered with.

[Alone055]

Satoshi vision is accomplished and so the essence of centralization is the opportunity businessmen sighted to achieve greater rewards out of it by controlling the less knowledgeable individuals for their advantage.

Until these individuals understand fully the main purpose of decentralization and stick to it to be out of the bondage.

If there is any way the centralized system can take over everything is destroying the self authority by every holders, which isn't possible and so the Satoshi would be more happy that the system can't be tampered with.

I sort of agree with what you are trying to say, because even though every country is doing their best to regulate Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as much as possible and don't allow their people to have any sort of financial privacy, Bitcoin itself can still allow people to achieve anonymity and privacy if they know how to do it, I mean, if you are not using centralized platforms and wallets, and if you aren't letting your wallet receive transactions from KYCed services, or send to them, you will basically have your privacy intact if you are using a non-custodial wallet, of course.

Those of us who don't care about these things will barely think about them, because the majority of us already use centralized services such as exchanges and even casinos, and we use our personal wallets to send and receive cryptocurrencies into these platforms, so all our wallets and addresses are basically linked to our identity one way or another.

[Donneski]

Even if I know some of the ways we use Bitcoin now weren’t in Satoshi Nakamoto's original plan like storing large amounts in centralized exchanges or focusing more on investment instead of daily peer-to-peer use, I still think he would be extremely proud, if not for anything, for how long Bitcoin have come. The fact that Bitcoin has become a global name, broken financial barriers, and proven it can’t be shut down is already a huge success. The dream might have evolved but the foundation is still solid and that I think is what matters the most.

[PX-Z]

Satoshi would likely be proud of Bitcoin's growth and the heights it has reached, except for one thing, its increasing regulatory dependency and drift toward centralization. He would probably prefer Bitcoin to remain at a lower price rather than rely on political or governmental backing, which inevitably brings more regulations and restrictions. Bitcoin was created to avoid such interference, yet it now seems that the majority are embracing it. Of course, p2p transactions still exist, but they are no longer the main focus. That's why people should support decentralized exchange with p2p, mixers, instant anon exchanges, and many more privacy related tools.

[mcdouglasx]

Well, let's say one of those big centralized companies gets hacked, goes bankrupt, or loses your funds somehow, or if your government decides to confiscate them for some reason or another, who do you think will prevail?
Whoever followed the decentralized Bitcoin vision, which has its own control, will prevail. I'm not saying centralized exchanges or wallets are bad, just that you shouldn't trust them with all your coins.

[X-ray]

Hard to know but since the bitcoin is being adopted everywhere right now and only matters of time until everybody on earth using it I bet he's happy enough.

Since he envisioned bitcoin to be electronic peer to peer cash, I think current market speculation is part of the process for it to be adopted world wide and eventually people will find themselves using bitcoin to replace the traditional finance.

I think even the centralization of BTC in one entity like being held by custodian such as exchange is already being predicted by him.

[adaseb]

I think he would have mixed feelings.

For one, it became very successful so I am sure he would be glad for that. Its like the #4 most valuable commodity right now. I think its market cap surpassed Google a few days ago. And being that Trump actually endorsed it and invested in it, he would be proud.

But like the other comments in this thread. He wanted peer to peer transactions. Right now there isnt much of that. Most are only using stablecoins to buy goods and services and the majority is simply people trading bitcoin to earn a profit. Nobody is trading crypto for services directly.

Another area he wouldnt be happy with is his whole "1 PC = 1 VOTE" basically he wanted everybody to be able to mine Bitcoin with a PC. But obviously home miners are completely out of the game. You cant even mine ETH because its POS. So I dont think he would be happy since a large portions of the hashrate is in the hands of large mining organizations.

[serjent05]

Well, let's say one of those big centralized companies gets hacked, goes bankrupt, or loses your funds somehow, or if your government decides to confiscate them for some reason or another, who do you think will prevail?

Is this a competiton between people who use CEX and people who stick on P2P transaction?  I bet no?  If the government decided to confiscate Bitcoin, I believe whether it is stashed on CEX or on a non-custodial wallet, they are both at risk of being confiscated.  None will prevail because even if you have your BTC stored in a non-custodial wallet, there is no way you can spend it openly, because there will be no store or shops that will accept it because the government is confiscating all BTC.

Whoever followed the decentralized Bitcoin vision, which has its own control, will prevail. I'm not saying centralized exchanges or wallets are bad, just that you shouldn't trust them with all your coins.

No one will prevail because they are affected negatively by the government's restrictions. 

As for Satoshi's feeling, I won't dare speculate because I have no means to know his feelings.

[Marvell1]

As for Satoshi's feeling, I won't dare speculate because I have no means to know his feelings.

Yes, we are not him, not in his shoes, how can we know how he feels when he sees bitcoin today? But surprisingly, many confidently predicted that he would not disappoint, while bitcoin has almost completely deviated from its original purpose.

We need to remember that Satoshi created bitcoin to be a currency, not a speculative asset. Our vision is completely different from his, so we may be happy with bitcoin today, but he may be very disappointed.

It's hard to know if he's happy with bitcoin right now.

[AmaGold70]

We’ve always said, especially us early adopters, that Bitcoin is decentralized money meant to cut out third parties, to give us a way to move funds freely without the government watching or banks handling every transaction. But looking at the situation now, yeah, Bitcoin has grown fast and become really valuable…

I don’t have exact numbers, but I’m pretty sure most Bitcoin is sitting in centralized exchanges or ETFs, basically the new Wall Street. And the one thing we all hated before, KYC it’s everywhere now, not just in exchanges but even on gambling sites.

Satoshi’s vision was peer-to-peer transactions, yet most of today’s activity goes through centralized platforms.

So the question is, do you think Satoshi would be happy with where Bitcoin is now? yes, it’s valuable, but the original goal doesn’t seem fully achieved.

Are we now talking about how Satoshi would feel seeing Bitcoin now? I'm not him and I don't really know how he is feeling but if I were him, I'd be happy because regardless of what Bitcoin investors are doing with Bitcoin, his vision for Bitcoin hasn't been erased and we can never erase it so I don't see why he shouldn't be happy. It is true that his vision was peer to peer transactions but after that I think what ever I choose to do with my Bitcoin shouldn't be his concern anymore. Satoshi's major concern should be that a lot of people has embraced Bitcoin now unlike before when many people never believed in it.

[batang_bitcoin]

As for Satoshi's feeling, I won't dare speculate because I have no means to know his feelings.

No one will know but with the usage that we're having on it, it's fun to guess that he'd be proud of what Bitcoin had become. But this is another mystery that all of us will never know on what he thinks about the current status of their creation. We can think of it as a success project and with the global adoption that's done, very likely that he'd be happy about it. Although there is no way for us to guarantee accurately if he really is.

[SATWAT]

Yes, we are not him, not in his shoes, how can we know how he feels when he sees bitcoin today? But surprisingly, many confidently predicted that he would not disappoint, while bitcoin has almost completely deviated from its original purpose.

We need to remember that Satoshi created bitcoin to be a currency, not a speculative asset. Our vision is completely different from his, so we may be happy with bitcoin today, but he may be very disappointed.

It's hard to know if he's happy with bitcoin right now.

There is no doubt currently no one know status of Satoshi Nakamoto, but one thing is clear peoples love is increasing about him because too many like me are happy with this Bitcoin because this brings us on another level which was never been possible before this.
Mostly in this community surely having serious changes into their lives because now things are turning into positive way, and they are having enough sources which was never been possible due to this technology now thousands are able to have jobs and doing things for earning Bitcoin this is clearly indicating its working and bringing changes.
With this cycle he is also going to be happy because just because of this financial world having good changes and peoples are working on things which were never been easy to do before.

[Findingnemo]

I am sure he is watching it from somewhere.

Peer-to-peer transfer is still possible without any KYC but we need bitcoins for that and to buy that most convenient way is to pick a centralized exchange, deposit fiat and then buy bitcoin and then withdraw it but the last stage is what most people to miss out because they see bitcoin as an asset rather than currency so they lack the understanding about it's core concept leaving the coin in exchange and trusting the exchange to keep them safe.

[irhact]

Satoshi’s vision was peer-to-peer transactions, yet most of today’s activity goes through centralized platforms. So the question is, do you think Satoshi would be happy with where Bitcoin is now? yes, it’s valuable, but the original goal doesn’t seem fully achieved.

Satoshi won't be angry that Bitcoin is being processed through a third party, in his original thoughts he didn't say that Bitcoin shouldn't be processed through an escrow which that's what the third party applications are being used for but he wanted people to have access to moving their transactions freely and that's what is happening with Bitcoin. There's no way Bitcoin would had being this popular without a little bit of centralisation not being involved. Bitcoin isn't a failure, it's making more people learn about protecting their own money without having to rely on the government to do it for them and it has enriched many people which is all a good thing and not a bad thing.

[Smartvirus]

Satoshi’s vision was peer-to-peer transactions, yet most of today’s activity goes through centralized platforms.

So the question is, do you think Satoshi would be happy with where Bitcoin is now? yes, it’s valuable, but the original goal doesn’t seem fully achieved.

Even Satoshi Nakamoto would understand that some things takes time, that’s why he designed Bitcoin’s network to follow a certain circle in mining and block reward reductions. It’s all a phase and the phase we have it now is one that tries to value every bit, fraction or sat of a Bitcoin in such a way that it would be useful to the larger world population. Without global adoption, peer 2 peer use of Bitcoin would always come by some limitation as, there wouldn’t be enough persons to accept it. We would get there, it’s a phase that is to come surely.