The New Satoshi Emails: 120 Pages On The Origins Of Bitcoin

The new Satoshi emails, spanning over 120 pages on the origins of Bitcoin, were made public by Martii ‘Sirius’ Malmi, one of Satoshi’s first collaborators.

Martii ‘Sirius’ Malmi, one of Satoshi Nakamoto’s first collaborators, has made public every email exchange he had with the man behind Bitcoin.

The new emails are the most important contribution to the body of knowledge concerning the still-unknown founder of Bitcoin, and they were prompted by an ongoing lawsuit in the United Kingdom.

Senator Elizabeth Warren honored Satoshi Nakamoto with a flag over the Capitol as part of the Capitol Flag Program, recognizing the creation of the first ‘truly inclusive financial system.

These are the most significant recent discoveries.

EMAIL #1: SATOSHI’S BITCOIN SCALING ASSUMPTIONS

In response to a question on how Bitcoin would grow, Satoshi predicted that there might only be a maximum of 100,000 nodes in the network.

Here, he delves into the computations evaluating the economic expenses associated with bandwidth for nodes (i.e., miners) in distributing transactions throughout the network, as well as the potential for cost-effective transfer to consumers.

He also talks about the deployment of fee-paying customers and suggests that the network’s processing capability may cause the charge required for transaction confirmation to be determined by the market.

Overall, it’s intriguing napkin math, but nothing unusual for anyone who has read all of Satoshi’s contributions on the Bitcoin site.

There, Satoshi often discussed his thoughts about how he wanted the network to expand. It’s interesting to note that many of his concepts were abandoned in favor of more practical solutions.

EMAIL #2: BITCOIN DOESN’T WASTE ENERGY

It turns out that Satoshi understood the network was green, even if he wouldn’t live to witness the incredible surge in Bitcoin mining using stranded resources.

One of the first critiques directed at his new creation, Satoshi took the opportunity to respond to the notion that mining Bitcoin was wasteful on the forums. He said, among other things, that the greater waste would be not having a currency like Bitcoin.

But in this instance, he goes into further detail and does it in a way that is more vivid and descriptive than in previous examples.

EMAIL #3: SATOSHI ON TIME-STAMPING 

Whether Bitcoin is money or if it has other ancillary applications is still up for dispute today.

Satoshi appears to shed light on the discussion in this email exchange, stating that he thinks the blockchain can be utilized as a distributed time-stamping server. This is similar to what has occurred in Guatemala, where controversial elections have recently been certified using blockchain technology.

EMAIL #4: SATOSHI TALKS DIGICASH

Satoshi outlines the distinctions between David Chaum’s unsuccessful e-money, DigiCash, and #Bitcoin.

This is significant since Chaum’s writings greatly influenced Hal Finney and other cypherpunks. He goes into detail about how the two models differ in terms of privacy and points out that, in contrast to Chaum’s scheme, this one did not enable an offline model, necessitating that all users be online in order to utilize it.

He also discusses Bitcoin’s limited availability.

EMAIL #5: SATOSHI WAS CONCERNED ABOUT PROMOTING BITCOIN

When he first introduced #Bitcoin, Satoshi expressed worry about the legal ramifications and said he was “uncomfortable” with the idea of calling it an investment.

Note: It’s clear from this that he did not coin the word “cryptocurrency” himself.

EMAIL #6: SATOSHI GOT BURNED OUT ON BITCOIN

Satoshi expressed his fatigue in July 2009, stating that he “needed a break” from Bitcoin. This is also where he explains Hal’s absence from the office. He also says that at that moment, he developed Bitcoin for eighteen months.

In an equally intriguing note, he asks Malmi if he has any suggestions for real-world uses for Bitcoin.

EMAIL #7: BITCOIN, A WAY TO GET FREE MONEY

Satoshi spoke about the potential adoption of #Bitcoin. His focus on how simple it was to obtain Bitcoin because it could be mined on a computer is noteworthy. In addition, he speculates on how the Bitcoin market can develop and addresses people’s possible skepticism about the cryptocurrency. He says he is certain that the growing difficulty of mining Bitcoin will demonstrate its scarcity to users.

Extremely different from how we currently think about obtaining Bitcoin, yet showing a conceptual foresight of how people might value it in the future.

EMAIL #8: A MYSTERIOUS BITCOIN DONOR EMERGES

A $2,000 donation was made to Satoshi in June 2010 in appreciation of his efforts on Bitcoin. Remarkably, he asked the donor to mail it to Martti’s home. Additionally, he conveyed concern for maintaining the donor’s privacy.

EMAIL #9: SATOSHI WAS A FAN OF FREE TRANSACTIONS 

Although it was well known, Satoshi was rather insistent that the first adopters of Bitcoin view it as “free.” In this instance, he talks about removing transaction costs from an early software’s user experience.

It’s intriguing that he justified hiding this feature from people while yet admitting that it will eventually be needed.

EMAIL #10: SATOSHI WAS DEDICATED TO HIS BITCOIN WORK

Christmas Day was spent working on Bitcoin by Satoshi. There are some intriguing ramifications for his private life to think about in this situation.

EMAIL #11: BITCOIN, A WEB CURRENCY FOR CURRENCY TRADING?

When #Bitcoin gained traction, Satoshi envisaged it as a means of trading other virtual currencies, such as the Liberty Reserve. He continues by talking about the possibility of bitcoin gift card marketplaces, which eventually developed into and remain a sizable market for the cryptocurrency.

Note: The US subsequently closed Liberty Reserve.

EMAIL #12: SATOSHI’S FIRST DISAPPEARANCE 

In 2010, Satoshi took an unexplained leave of absence from Bitcoin. Here he is discussing it with Martti, however, it is noticeably devoid of specifics.

EMAIL #13: SATOSHI REALIZED BITCOIN WASN’T ANONYMOUS

The claim that Bitcoin was “anonymous” was taken down from http://Bitcoin.org by Satoshi. He was concerned that it made Bitcoin appear “shady.” This is consistent with his later views regarding Wikileaks’ declaration that they would now accept Bitcoin donations.

EMAIL #14: SATOSHI GIVES PRAISE TO HIS PROTEGE

It’s important to note that, despite the historical revisionism around this, Satoshi held Gavin Andresen in high regard. In this instance, he is complimenting Gavin while calling someone else a “goofball.”

EMAIL #15: SATOSHI SAYS SAYONARA 

At last, a copy of the email that Satoshi wrote to other developers before removing his identity from the project website is available. As they have stated, Satoshi makes no mention of his desire to take a backseat in the project.

While the emails do not reveal much new information overall, they do provide a fresh perspective on Satoshi’s dealings with project participants prior to his departure.