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The New Yorker’s Joshua Davis Attempts to Identify Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

But Garzik, the developer, says that the most dedicated Bitcoiners have stopped trying to hunt down Satoshi Nakamoto. “We really don’t care,” he says. It’s not the individuals behind the code who matter, but the code itself. And while people have stolen and cheated and abandoned the Bitcoiners, the code has remained true.

We are in the infancy of what may be the greatest fundamental shift for human society of the 21st century.

MIT Technology Review. Who We Are. We're an innovative, digitally oriented global media company whose reach is rapidly expanding. Our mission is to identify important new technologies—deciphering their practical impact and revealing how they will change our lives. Founded at MIT in 1899, MIT Technology Review derives its authority from the world's foremost technology institution and from our editors' deep technical knowledge, economic realism, and unequaled access to the world's preeminent innovators.

Technology Review

What Bitcoin Is, and Why It Matters

Can a booming “crypto-currency” really compete with conventional cash?

Recent weeks have been exciting for a relatively new kind of currency speculator. In just three weeks, the total value of a unique new digital currency called Bitcoin has jumped four times, to over $40 million. ~ By Tom Simonite ~

Read the full story.

Comments:

Encouraging

Wow. This is actually the first encouraging technology news that I've read in quite a while. I am hoping that this works out, and bit coin becomes a reliable and secure means of transferring money via the network. I hope the concept will be extended to include secure documentation as well, such as medical and financial records. If so, we might wind up with a secure internet infrastructure after all. Best of all - no need for Big Brother to control it.

The only question I have is, why did Satoshi pick 21 million as the limit? What effect will that number have? If only so many bitcoins are allowed then what happens to the value of the currency as demographics change? Let's say far-flung that one day bitcoin becomes the international currency of choice for all transactions. Just hypothetically. Then what effect will the 21 million bitcoin limit have? I wonder what Satoshi has in mind.

I do imagine, however, that if bitcoin were to put actual pressure on governments to reign in the overproduction of money (since it benefits certain individuals), that bitcoin will quickly become Public Enemy #1. No wonder Satoshi is practically anonymous! Good luck Satoshi! I hope you succeed! Don't worry, once bitcoin becomes defacto you can come out of hiding and I'll be happy to buy you a beer! Best wishes!

Ok, anyway, thanks for the article! Very interesting! ~ MATR ~

Reply:

Bitcoins can be split to the 8th decimal, so the 21 million limit still allows for (correct me if I'm wrong) 2100 trillion 'quantum units' of currency, hopefully enough for most of earth, and if not, what's there to stop copycat implementations using the same or slightly modified protocols from popping up as local currencies? ~ pkblaster ~

Reply:

Reining in overproduction of printed money

Much as I would love anything to be the solution to this major problem, I don't think it will have any effect on the govt printing presses.

The reason: the bitcoin has to eventually be converted back to some currency for most people to use it.

It certainly could be a useful part of an alternate monetary system designed perhaps to track actual goods and services rendered or owed and interchange valued directly in terms of these services, bypassing a currency value.

Paper currencies are by definition 'fiat' currencies, hence subject to political whims, i.e. it is harder for govts to increase taxes or borrow than it is to print money, and so they print lots of money. ~ erbium ~

Bitcoin

An open source P2P digital currency

Bitcoin is a currency, a protocol, and a software that enables

• Instant peer to peer transactions

• Worldwide payments

• Low or zero processing fees

And much more!

Bitcoin uses peer to peer technology to operate with no central authority; managing transactions and issuing Bitcoins are carried out collectively by the network. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment systems.

The software is a community-driven free open source project, released under the MIT license.

Bitcoin – Bitcoin

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Bitcoin – Wikipedia

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MIT License – MIT

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