With different kinds of cryptocurrencies available online, it’s hard to keep track of all of them. But, without a doubt, the most popular one is Bitcoin. Who started this trend and how much digital assets do they have today?
It is presumed that a person or persons using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto is the founder of bitcoin. No one knows where he lives exactly or what his real name is. But he currently holds 1 million bitcoins, giving him a spot on Forbes Billionaires.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin, commonly abbreviated as BTC, is a digital currency or a type of cryptocurrency created back in 2009. There are no physical coins or money but only balances that are placed on a public ledger. (Source: Investopedia)
Bitcoins are not regulated by banks or any government. They are also invaluable as a commodity. But in spite of this currency not being a legal tender it has gained popularity all across the world. (Source: Investopedia)
Bitcoin started with a value of $0, today 1 bitcoin is equivalent to $48,037.80 to be exact. (Source: Coin Desk)
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
As mentioned earlier, Satoshi Nakamoto is merely a pseudonym used by the person or people behind the creation of bitcoin. Nakamoto authored the paper entitled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. (Source: Investopedia)
The abstract of the paper reads:
A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main
benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network.The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing
the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they’ll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone. (Source: Bitcoin)
Being the founder and pioneer user of bitcoin, Nakamoto now ranks as the 19th richest person in the world. Five months earlier he ranked 159th. This means the value of the bitcoin has increased drastically making instant millionaires out of the bitcoin owners.
How Much is Satoshi Nakamoto Worth?
Even if we are not certain if there is more than one person behind the pseudonym, the fact of the matter is – Nakamoto is filthy rich.
Today, he holds about 1 million bitcoins which is equivalent to $13.4 billion US dollars. Giving him a spot on the top 20 richest people in the world. (Source: Bitcoin)