4 ms·

Why is it important who Satoshi is?

pfortuny 13y ago
It is not important: it is interesting for some people. A historian might use the term "important" but curiosity is the source of a lot of human endeavours.
- simias 13y ago
  If bitcoin is successful in the long run then Satoshi will become extremely rich, maybe one of the wealthiest people in the world. I think it makes finding out who it is more than mere "voyeurism". Imagine if some extremist group hides behind the Satoshi sockpuppet for instance. At that point I'd say it's unlikely but far from impossible.
  - pfortuny 13y ago
    I did not try to sound critical: curiosity is what drives my research as a mathematician.
natch 13y ago
We might not know the answer to why it is important, until we know who he is.
tlrobinson 13y ago
It's not particularly important, but it would be interesting to know, and if Bitcoin succeeds he could easily become the wealthiest person in the world.
nemof 13y ago
I honestly prefer the mystery to remain, but therein lies the challenge for those whose noses twitch at a good mystery and a show of intellectual prowess that is demanded to unmask a supposedly ghost-like figure.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
CitizenKane 13y ago
It's important because whoever Satoshi is controls a significant number of bitcoins [1]. This gives them a large ability to affect the market for bitcoins and is a potential risk if they ever choose to do so. I'm sure for many people, they'd like to protect their investments into bitcoin, so knowing the identity of Satoshi is important to them. [1] http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/bitcoin-mints-its-first-billionaire-satoshi-nakamoto http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/bitcoin-mints-its-first-bil...
- joosters 13y ago
  How does this relate to knowing who Satoshi is? Are you implying that Bitcoin investors should pressurise or threaten Satoshi in some way? That is disturbing...
  - baq 13y ago
    he is one man that can destroy the market in one click.
  - nwatson 13y ago
    If he/she dies their heirs will want to liquidate their estate. This event by far will lead to the largest flood of BTC on the market. Look for a big crash 0 to 40 years from now.
    - gnaritas 13y ago
      No one would dumb enough to ruin their own fortune by trying to liquidate it all at once, so no that's not going to happen.
  - CitizenKane 13y ago
    Whoa, talking about going overboard. I'm implying no such thing. What I am saying is that if you're investing into bitcoin it's intelligent to know what you're getting into. Satoshi currently controls around 12% of all bitcoins. And even with the maximum number Satoshi will control 7% of all bitcoins. This is huge potential to disrupt the market and knowing what the person or people who are Satoshi might do has a potentially huge investment impact. Hence the reason that people have the desire to know who Satoshi is.

It is not important: it is interesting for some people. A historian might use the term "important" but curiosity is the source of a lot of human endeavours.

simias 13y ago
If bitcoin is successful in the long run then Satoshi will become extremely rich, maybe one of the wealthiest people in the world. I think it makes finding out who it is more than mere "voyeurism". Imagine if some extremist group hides behind the Satoshi sockpuppet for instance. At that point I'd say it's unlikely but far from impossible.
- pfortuny 13y ago
  I did not try to sound critical: curiosity is what drives my research as a mathematician.

natch 13y ago

We might not know the answer to why it is important, until we know who he is.

tlrobinson 13y ago

It's not particularly important, but it would be interesting to know, and if Bitcoin succeeds he could easily become the wealthiest person in the world.

nemof 13y ago

I honestly prefer the mystery to remain, but therein lies the challenge for those whose noses twitch at a good mystery and a show of intellectual prowess that is demanded to unmask a supposedly ghost-like figure.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

CitizenKane 13y ago

It's important because whoever Satoshi is controls a significant number of bitcoins [1]. This gives them a large ability to affect the market for bitcoins and is a potential risk if they ever choose to do so. I'm sure for many people, they'd like to protect their investments into bitcoin, so knowing the identity of Satoshi is important to them. [1] http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/bitcoin-mints-its-first-billionaire-satoshi-nakamoto http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/bitcoin-mints-its-first-bil...

joosters 13y ago
How does this relate to knowing who Satoshi is? Are you implying that Bitcoin investors should pressurise or threaten Satoshi in some way? That is disturbing...
- baq 13y ago
  he is one man that can destroy the market in one click.
- nwatson 13y ago
  If he/she dies their heirs will want to liquidate their estate. This event by far will lead to the largest flood of BTC on the market. Look for a big crash 0 to 40 years from now.
  - gnaritas 13y ago
    No one would dumb enough to ruin their own fortune by trying to liquidate it all at once, so no that's not going to happen.
- CitizenKane 13y ago
  Whoa, talking about going overboard. I'm implying no such thing. What I am saying is that if you're investing into bitcoin it's intelligent to know what you're getting into. Satoshi currently controls around 12% of all bitcoins. And even with the maximum number Satoshi will control 7% of all bitcoins. This is huge potential to disrupt the market and knowing what the person or people who are Satoshi might do has a potentially huge investment impact. Hence the reason that people have the desire to know who Satoshi is.