While many new users may not know much about the creator(s) of Bitcoin who went By 'Satoshi Nakomoto', but the motivation behind the release of the technology was rooted solely in a desire to empower individuals.
While many blockchian projects that we have seen since have taken the aspect of empowering individuals and expanded upon it, the original motivation behind the release of the bitcoin network and underlying blockchain database is something all cryptocurrency users should remember. The inventor or investors of the Bitcoin network disappeared from all platforms and forums several years into the Bitcoin network, at a point in which they believed the project had a large enough community to sustain itself without their help. While the exact amount of Satoshi's holdings are still unknown because his wallets are spread over thousands of addresses, the amount is estimated to be well over 1 billion dollars USD. None of the funds from any of the genesis blocks have ever moved, and there is no evidence that any of the Bitcoins held in wallets owned by the creator were ever transferred. While the desire to remain anonymous at the launch of the project are clear, the creator or creators could have announced and proved they were the creators anytime in the past several years and gain instant fame.
It is clear through all of the posts that Satoshi made about his views and beliefs that fame and wealth were not their motivations for creating Bitcoin, which is likely why the true identity of Satoshi Natomoto remains a mystery to this day. The original intent of Bitcoin was to give individuals around the world access to a method of sending, storing, and receiving value that was completely independent of any government institutions. Satoshi expressed that he believed that governments rely heavily on their control of the currency as a means of control over individuals, and that Bitcoin was simply a method of eliminating the need for centralized structures in storing and transferring of value. While Satoshi rarely shared personal opinions and beliefs, those opinions he did express made his motivations of enhancing freedoms and liberties of all individuals clear.
Satoshi's choice to remain anonymous was likely very important in the early years of Bitcoin.
While the Bitcoin community was mainly composed of computer hobbyists and programmers in the first few years of development, in 2011 it was introduced to as the payment method on the original dark-net market site The Silk Road. While Satoshi had no involvement with the project at that point, if his identity was known he could have been the target of an investigation. While the Silk Road was shut down in 2013 and the 'owner 'of the platform Ross Ulbrich was given an unjust trial and sentenced to life in prison, the Silk Road is what really brought Bitcoin into the 'mainstream' for the first time. Right after the seizure of the silk road, the price of Bitcoin soared for a week or so before returning to it's prior levels. There were a lot of factors in the first major price drop of Bitcoin in 2013 including the MtGox hack and the Silk Road seizure, but as we all know Bitcoin survived and thrived over the past 4 years.
If Satoshi's true identity was known during that time, the government may have attempted to take action against him regardless of the fact that he had no involvement. The risk of being a target of an entity that is as large as a government is something that no individual would want, which I believe was one of Satoshi's core motivations for remaining anonymous. While the creator or creators of Bitcoin could come out at any point, I find it highly unlikely that the world will ever know who was truly behind the creation of the Bitcoin network. This just validates my belief that the individual(s) simply wanted to give the Bitcoin network and the underlying protocol as a gift to the world, rather than with capitalist intentions and motivations.
What impact did the Silkroad have on Bitcoin?
While Satoshi did return and express his concerns about utilizing Bitcoin on the Silk Road, but I believe that it was ultimately what brought Bitcoin into the mainstream for the first time. While many people probably heard about it on the news or online rather than using the Silk Road, it was still the introduction of Bitcoin to the mainstream. While it took some time for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to gain legitimacy and separate themselves from criminal activity, there is no doubt that Bitcoin wouldn't be where it is today if it wasn't for the introduction to Bitcoin that the Silk Road platform enabled. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have become much more legitimate and have distanced themselves from negative activities, but even platforms like the Silk Road influenced many Bitcoin users beliefs. I never used the Silk Road personally, but having seen many screenshots and forum posts of "Dread Pirate Roberts" and his beliefs I would say that many of his beliefs were shared by the Bitcoin community at that time.
The Silkroad was so much more than just a website for individuals to purchase 'illegal' goods, it was an experiment as to what a completely free market could look like. The Silk road enabled individuals a method to transact directly with one another securely and without any government interference, which is something that many Bitcoin believers were wildly in support of. While I don't believe that using these types of platforms is worth the risks for me, the mentality that came along with the Silkroad was definitely formative on the mentality of many within the Bitcoin community. The first time that Bitcoin was highlighted on the mainstream nightly news was in October of 2013, right after the closure of the Silkroad and the arrest of DPR. While this may have impacted many everyday individuals to view cryptocurrencies in a negative way, cryptocurrencies have been able to rise to levels that would have only been dreamed of just a year or 2 ago.
Blockchain's aspects of personal empowerment are more prevalent than ever.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency technology is here to stay, and the aspects of enhancing and promoting personal freedoms are still present in many blockchain projects and networks. While this empowerment is under a much wider range of use cases compared to Bitcoin, the motivations have also been able to transform along with the platforms. In order for blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies to gain and achieve long term adoption, there must be a viable and realistic method for creators and innovators to have a chance for return on their investment. This is now done through ownership stake in the platform, token distributions, and other methods, and the cryptocurrency industry is at the brink of mass adoption in my opinion. While the motivations may be slightly different compared to the original motivations of Satoshi, the features of enhancing and empowering personal freedoms are still present throughout many different blockchain projects and networks.
The profits and returns on investment that cryptocurrencies and different blockchain networks have given many of us are great, but supporting networks that enhance personal freedoms is just as important. Blockchain technology gives us the unique ability to seek profits and returns while we are supporting projects that enhance freedoms and opportunities for individuals at the same time. Combining the ability to offer practical use cases to increase options, opportunities, and services for individuals with the ability for investors and users to have a whole new method of achieving financial security is a revolutionary concept that has been made possible through the advancement of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
I really hope that you enjoyed this post, and I urge you to leave any comments, questions, input, ect. in the comments below. Thanks for reading and your support!