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The problem here is that Satoshi has a GPG key, and this message is not signed with it. http://bitcoin.org/satoshinakamoto.asc http://bitcoin.org/satoshinakamo

The problem here is that Satoshi has a GPG key, and this message is not signed with it. http://bitcoin.org/satoshinakamoto.asc http://bitcoin.org/satoshinakamoto.asc

saraid216 13y ago
Which would be bigger news? That someone who isn't Satoshi managed to do this, or that Satoshi has reappeared after years of silence?
- NowhereMan 13y ago
  Anyone can embed messages in a Bitcoin transaction. It looks like this one was sent using a transaction script. http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/3440 http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/3440
- dylangs1030 13y ago
  That Satoshi reappeared, by an order of magnitude. It would be news either way, but people have been searching for him/her/whatever "Satoshi" is for years now.
  - pyre 13y ago
    Wouldn't it be grand if Satoshi was the NSA? ;-)
    - damian2000 13y ago
      With the purpose being... to undermine the currency of their only source of income (the US government)? ;-)
      - danudey 13y ago
        After all the other 'realm of conspiracy theory' stuff that's come out, maybe the NSA just has their own agenda entirely.
        lightyrs 13y ago
        People are finally starting to understand. Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity.
        olympus 13y ago
        If we wanted to go down the conspiracy track, imagine if the NSA was behind it all. They are growing bitcoin large enough that tons of people rely on it, and also building up huge amounts of computing power in several large server farms. Then they can "switch the flip" - so to speak - and use a 51% attack to screw with the people who rely on it. While it wouldn't be very good to just crush the system as a whole (why would they have spent the effort in the first place?), they could selectively target their biggest nuisances by turning on their big building in Utah, take over the network for a few blocks and wipe out somebody's entire savings. Then they could shut off their building in Utah, and everything would chug along smoothly except for the one or two dudes they bankrupted.
        dvdkhlng 13y ago
        While the "51% attack" [1] allows an adversary to control the block chain, she can only control which transactions to include and which not to include, so in the worst case bit-coin transactions can be (selectively) shut down. Doing transactions on behalf of other users' accounts is not possible, as accounts are secured using public key cryptography (via elliptic curves) [2]. Only the creator of an account has the private key that allows her to sign valid transactions. Nothing hinders the entity controlling the block chain to include invalid transactions that aren't properly signed, however all the other bitcoin clients in the network still verify the blockchain when downloaded, so those invalid transactions won't have a visible effect on users of the Bitcoin network. [1] http://mineforeman.com/2012/12/10/want-to-destroy-bitcoin-i-am-going-to-tell-you-how/ http://mineforeman.com/2012/12/10/want-to-destroy-bitcoin-i-... [2] http://blog.ezyang.com/2011/06/the-cryptography-of-bitcoin/ http://blog.ezyang.com/2011/06/the-cryptography-of-bitcoin/
        nunb 13y ago
        I feel compelled to remark that they wouldn't do this just so they could flip the switch and screw over some people holding bitcoin. The NSA has easier ways of screwing people over. Instead, as PG and others have hypothesized, the sovereign behind btc will have achieved a new worldwide currency system, that naturally, they will participate in, perhaps from a somewhat advantageous position (premined blocks etc). The last 3 sentences of your post are a non-sequitur imho.
      - quantumpotato_ 13y ago
        The right arm doesn't know what the left is doing.
      - saraid216 13y ago
        Not actually as farfetched as that sounds. Keep in mind that alternative currencies are actually useful during economic downturns as a buffer to keep things afloat. Until now, such alternative currencies were extremely local: visitors to a place rarely know about its existence and aren't invited to participate. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has been adopted in tandem with other currencies worldwide and has made international news. It may never succeed in some of its proponents' dreams of replacing fiat currency, but it's certainly visible enough to act as a global alternative currency during recessions.
    - lightyrs 13y ago
      I'd be legitimately surprised if Satoshi was not a U.S. government project.
adulau 13y ago
Regarding his PGP, it's interesting to see who (at least which key) signed his public key: http://pgp.circl.lu/pks/lookup?op=vindex&search=0x5EC948A1&fingerprint=on http://pgp.circl.lu/pks/lookup?op=vindex&search=0x5EC948A1&f... I assume none of the key verified his identity before signing it ;-)

The problem here is that Satoshi has a GPG key, and this message is not signed with it. http://bitcoin.org/satoshinakamoto.asc http://bitcoin.org/satoshinakamoto.asc

saraid216 13y ago

Which would be bigger news? That someone who isn't Satoshi managed to do this, or that Satoshi has reappeared after years of silence?

NowhereMan 13y ago
Anyone can embed messages in a Bitcoin transaction. It looks like this one was sent using a transaction script. http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/3440 http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/3440
dylangs1030 13y ago
That Satoshi reappeared, by an order of magnitude. It would be news either way, but people have been searching for him/her/whatever "Satoshi" is for years now.
- pyre 13y ago
  Wouldn't it be grand if Satoshi was the NSA? ;-)
  - damian2000 13y ago
    With the purpose being... to undermine the currency of their only source of income (the US government)? ;-)
    - danudey 13y ago
      After all the other 'realm of conspiracy theory' stuff that's come out, maybe the NSA just has their own agenda entirely.
      - lightyrs 13y ago
        People are finally starting to understand. Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity.
        olympus 13y ago
        If we wanted to go down the conspiracy track, imagine if the NSA was behind it all. They are growing bitcoin large enough that tons of people rely on it, and also building up huge amounts of computing power in several large server farms. Then they can "switch the flip" - so to speak - and use a 51% attack to screw with the people who rely on it. While it wouldn't be very good to just crush the system as a whole (why would they have spent the effort in the first place?), they could selectively target their biggest nuisances by turning on their big building in Utah, take over the network for a few blocks and wipe out somebody's entire savings. Then they could shut off their building in Utah, and everything would chug along smoothly except for the one or two dudes they bankrupted.
        dvdkhlng 13y ago
        While the "51% attack" [1] allows an adversary to control the block chain, she can only control which transactions to include and which not to include, so in the worst case bit-coin transactions can be (selectively) shut down. Doing transactions on behalf of other users' accounts is not possible, as accounts are secured using public key cryptography (via elliptic curves) [2]. Only the creator of an account has the private key that allows her to sign valid transactions. Nothing hinders the entity controlling the block chain to include invalid transactions that aren't properly signed, however all the other bitcoin clients in the network still verify the blockchain when downloaded, so those invalid transactions won't have a visible effect on users of the Bitcoin network. [1] http://mineforeman.com/2012/12/10/want-to-destroy-bitcoin-i-am-going-to-tell-you-how/ http://mineforeman.com/2012/12/10/want-to-destroy-bitcoin-i-... [2] http://blog.ezyang.com/2011/06/the-cryptography-of-bitcoin/ http://blog.ezyang.com/2011/06/the-cryptography-of-bitcoin/
        nunb 13y ago
        I feel compelled to remark that they wouldn't do this just so they could flip the switch and screw over some people holding bitcoin. The NSA has easier ways of screwing people over. Instead, as PG and others have hypothesized, the sovereign behind btc will have achieved a new worldwide currency system, that naturally, they will participate in, perhaps from a somewhat advantageous position (premined blocks etc). The last 3 sentences of your post are a non-sequitur imho.
    - quantumpotato_ 13y ago
      The right arm doesn't know what the left is doing.
    - saraid216 13y ago
      Not actually as farfetched as that sounds. Keep in mind that alternative currencies are actually useful during economic downturns as a buffer to keep things afloat. Until now, such alternative currencies were extremely local: visitors to a place rarely know about its existence and aren't invited to participate. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has been adopted in tandem with other currencies worldwide and has made international news. It may never succeed in some of its proponents' dreams of replacing fiat currency, but it's certainly visible enough to act as a global alternative currency during recessions.
  - lightyrs 13y ago
    I'd be legitimately surprised if Satoshi was not a U.S. government project.

adulau 13y ago

Regarding his PGP, it's interesting to see who (at least which key) signed his public key: http://pgp.circl.lu/pks/lookup?op=vindex&search=0x5EC948A1&fingerprint=on http://pgp.circl.lu/pks/lookup?op=vindex&search=0x5EC948A1&f... I assume none of the key verified his identity before signing it ;-)