In the digital era where everything is posted online easily, being anonymous or keeping a private life is challenging. But did you know that the man behind the most famous cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, remains a mystery?

In 2008 a person or a group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto released a paper describing a new software system called bitcoin then he disappeared just as abruptly three years later. As of writing, 1 bitcoin is worth $40,669.

"Satoshi" means "clear thinking, quick-witted; wise." "Naka" can mean "medium, inside, or relationship." "Moto" can mean "origin" or "foundation." Whether he is Japanese or not, no one can really tell.

Nakamoto was the one who mined the first blockchain of bitcoin. Bitcoin came to life when Nakamoto published his famous white paper on a cryptography mailing list describing a digital currency that would allow secure, peer-to-peer transactions without the involvement of any middleman, whether that be the government, financial system, or a company. He had envisioned Bitcoin to be a token of transaction that would be widely adopted by the world to protect against inflation, which currently has been adopted by many countries as a legal tender.

Nakamoto was also responsible for the first-ever Bitcoin transaction. In block 170 of the cryptocurrency’s network, Nakamoto sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney, with a transaction cost of 0 BTC. At the time, it’s worth noting, blockspace was completely unused and the cryptocurrency was virtually worthless.

Despite giving credit to Nakamoto as the creator of Bitcoin, no one knows who is behind this pseudo name, where he can be found, and what he is up to nowadays. On April 23, 2011, he sent a farewell email to a fellow Bitcoin developer. “I’ve moved on to other things,” he wrote, assuring that the future of Bitcoin was “in good hands.” Nothing has been heard from him since.

And while we might never get the chance to know who Satoshi Nakamoto is, his contributions in the world of cryptocurrency is enough for us to recognize him as the Father of Bitcoin.

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