Satoshi Nakamoto is an Aussie!

[Fulvio]

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36168863

Yeah, yeah, I know none of you 'get' digital currencies. But that's beside the point. The creators of both Bitcoin and Dogecoin were aussies, as are many leading lights in the crypto communities.

Kinda makes ya proud, eh?

Of course, you can bet that our beloved gubbermink will now be chasing him for a hefty slice of his $600 million or so worth of coins.

[r9453]

One thing I don't get is why an Australian named Craig Wright would choose an alias (Satoshi Nakamoto) in the first place. What's that about, what was he trying to hide, protecting his privacy, why the need for secrecy? Why spill the beans now?

You are correct, of course I don't get it. For me bit coins are located somewhere between the cloud and the Cayman Islands.

[Fulvio]

What's that about, what was he trying to hide, protecting his privacy, why the need for secrecy? Why spill the beans now?

Very good questions.

The roots for the currency are deeply embedded in privacy. Some tin foil hat conspiracy theorists, a lot of libertarians, a couple handfuls of artful dodgers... basically people who don't want to be spied on. Sort of like we don't go bleating about our collections publicly if we know what's good for us.

Satoshi was a screen name, arguably shared by multiple people (Wright has given credit to another guy, now deceased) and used to discuss cryptography, and the possibilities for a currency built on mathematics, not trust. This eventually led to the Bitcoin White Paper, and the building of the early network. By the time that it mattered who he was, there were reasons not to divulge that. Like a million bitcoins which were appreciating rapidly.

If you had $600 million that nobody knew you had, would you be keen to divulge that? Especially if you didn't actually need the money? After all, every lottery winner goes public, right?

Why now? Well, there are two camps here. One is that as he claims, he was pushed into it, by increasing speculation affecting people around him. The other is that this is a scam, but nobody has yet put a case for what he might have to gain from it.

Me, I honestly don't care. Live founders are more of a liability than an asset I reckon. The guy who invented Dogecoin, Jackson Palmer (another aussie) was highly visible, and we've seen the downside of that. Every time he acted like a jerk, he damaged the community and the currency a little bit more. Eventually he spat the dummy and stormed off in a fit, and that was probably the best thing he could have done for us. Whether Wright IS Satoshi or not, the best thing he could do, and what he has said he wants to do, is simply fade into the background. The currency has enough problems, both technical and ego-driven, already, and doesn't need more dramas.

As for getting it, what's to get? You have a wallet, which is simply a number. There is a public ledger which records money as belonging to that wallet. By being the sole possessor of the private key which controls the wallet, you can spend that money. All cryptos are basically the same in this.

What varies is perceived value, and that is completely due to unrelated external forces. Which is no different to Gold, Silver, Iron, Oil, collectible coins, and just about everything else really. As with all those things, there are fortunes to be made and lost. The key being timing.

Oh, and remember the privacy bit? Nobody knows how much cryptocurrency you have, unless you tell them. In certain parts of the world, that can be a very, very big deal.

[r9453]

Thanks for the well-written explanation.

[SULLA]

This bitcoin amazes me and I still see it as a someones' vivid imagination.

Our fiat currency/money is backed by what?
Bitcoin and its imitators are backed by what?

At least fiat currency backed by nothing will still have some trading value, (silver and gold too!) when the lights go off!
Digital currencies such as Bitcoin and others will have zero value when the lights go off!

As for privacy! There is no privacy trading crypto's or anything else in this world, as we all now know thanks to the whistleblowers.

[Unicorn]

Digital currencies such as Bitcoin and others will have zero value when the lights go off!

Touchwood, what are the lights these people speak of ......

[Fulvio]

Digital currencies such as Bitcoin and others will have zero value when the lights go off!

Stop and think about what you're saying for a second.

When the lights go off, HOW, exactly? Sure, its a great-sounding throwaway phrase for fools, like so many others (don't even get me started on the Chemtrails tinfoil-hat mob), but the reality is that the lights are NOT going to get turned off, ever.

Sure, things can go wrong. Just ask Tasmania about the wisdom of dumping their gas turbine generators and relying on an easily-broken cable, for example. Or talk to my mate at Telstra about who in Sydney typed in the wrong command and shut down half their network. More than once.

But these are temporary outages. The internet was designed originally as a way of surviving a very real Nuclear Armaggedon. That never happened, and is unlikely to ever happen now. But short of wiping out humanity in its entirety (in which case nobody will care anyway), the internet isn't going away.

Oh, and even if it did, that wouldn't change anything really. Because mathematics is permanent and immutable. You can't flick a switch and make the number four disappear, can you?

Whereas you CAN flick a switch and say that from now on you can only withdraw 100 Euros a day, and you can't take money out of the country. Which has happened. Cyprus, Iceland, Greece, China, and various other places have excercised capital controls, and will continue to do so.

I really don't care whether you use or even understand cryptocurrencies. 99% of the world doesn't, and that's fine. But don't spread misinformation. Whether you like it or not, you WILL be using cryptos in the near future. You won't have any control, and no choice, because those currencies will be centrally issued and controlled, and
certainly not transparent. Me, I'm much happier having some say, which I have with the decentralised cryptos like Bitcoin, Dogecoin and many of the rest.

[trout]

Whether you like it or not, you WILL be using cryptos in the near future.

I doubt that this will be the case as the "Fiat" currency in use at the moment is far easier for the Government to control and manipulate :angel:

[Fulvio]

I doubt that this will be the case as the "Fiat" currency in use at the moment is far easier for the Government to control and manipulate

That won't change. It will still be fiat, but a crypto version which they will issue and manipulate. Every central bank (and every other bank too) on the planet is playing with this right now.

Basically, they want to steal the technology and development the crypto community has created, without relinquishing any of the power, or giving any benefits to their citizens. The big win in this will be the elimination of the massive costs involved in issuing, moving, counting, protecting and destroying physical money. A win which they'll pocket, of course.

[runway]

I live and work in the real world and get paid by real money and pay real tax
Very disturbing how some people are addicted to their computer Virtual world

[r9453]

I was listening to a PM story on FinTechs and the budget. Apparently the budget has provided some money specifically for the development of block chain technology. I wonder if the current PM is a fan.

[Fulvio]

I wonder if the current PM is a fan.

He is, yes. Which doesn't mean the aims of what they're up to are honourable.

Speaking of honourable, I see Chris Wright has taken a powder. Again. Curiouser and curiouser...

[r9453]

An item on News Radio this morning re Craig Wright backtrack:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-06/bitcoin-craig-wright-backtracks-on-promise-for-new-proof/7389242

[trout]

An item on News Radio this morning re Craig Wright backtrack:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-06/bitcoin-craig-wright-backtracks-on-promise-for-new-proof/7389242

Congrats on your 500th post Mate :yahoo:

[r9453]

Congrats on your 500th post Mate :yahoo:

Thanks very much, I'm just getting started. :thank_you: