I think a much more likely explanation is that the creators wanted to develop a cryptographic currency that was sound enough to become wildly popular and, in do

I think a much more likely explanation is that the creators wanted to develop a cryptographic currency that was sound enough to become wildly popular and, in doing so, to let early adopters (i.e. themselves) make a ridiculous amount of money. I say adopters in the plural because Wikipedia suggests that Satoshi Nakamoto is three people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin#Identity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin#Identity