Bitcoin is undeniably rising in popularity; with the digital coin hitting all-time highs of $4,300+, who knows where Bitcoin will take the cryptocurrency space. As well as demonstrating the market potential of cryptocurrencies, the success of Bitcoin is also a tacit validation of another concept, decentralization. Bitcoin is built on the very idea that control should not be placed in the hands of central authority. However, would it not be the ultimate irony that the biggest coin in the crypto-space should have been conceived by a governmental entity?
Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto?
Satoshi Nakamoto, without a doubt the most important name in all of cryptocurrency. This name, whoever it belongs to, is credited for breathing life to the crypto-ecosystem that we all subsist in today. There’s just one problem, no one knows who Satoshi Nakamoto is. Is this mysterious figure male or female? Are they even human? What if Satoshi Nakamoto is bigger than an individual or a machine, and is instead, a governmental entity? As history has shown us, governments have the resources and capabilities to undertake a project such as Bitcoin. The thing that you’re using to read this post? the internet; A by-product of the US military’s ARPANET, a project that was originally intended to connect multiple super computers together. If it is the case that a governmental entity created Bitcoin, what exactly does that mean for the millions of users that transact using the digital currency?
Why Would The Government Create Bitcoin?
The reasons as to why a government would even instigate the Bitcoin project are immediately obvious. In a global environment in which countries such as the US, Russia and China are constantly vying for economic dominance, what better way to achieve that than to have significant control over the future of money? Such a level of control would result in a cultural and economic hegemony that few states would be able to rival. Even if one finds it difficult to believe that a government created Bitcoin, it is clear that the digital coin is increasingly attracting the interests of many central authorities.
Central Authorities In The Bitcoin Market
There is speculation that many Bitcoin market movements are being dictated by large entities such as central banks. Is it really far-fetched to think that central authorities are building a significant position in Bitcoin to hold as a reserve currency? Ultimately, Bitcoin as an asset, has been performing tremendously well, it would almost be foolish for central authorities not to take a strategic position in the digital coin. With a limited circulation of 21 million coins, the involvement of large governmental players could soon see a change in the market landscape that is disadvantageous to smaller participants. If such a scenario were to occur, the assertion of the digital coin being the bastion for decentralized currency would surely be a hollow one.
Conclusion
Satoshi Nakamoto, one name but many faces. Male, female, artificial intelligence or governmental entity? The answer is an elusive one. Yet, with the growing interest being shown by governments to Bitcoin, does it really matter? Because even though a government may not have created Bitcoin, very little prevents them from forcibly taking over Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of a decentralized, virtual currency.
