Fuck Satoshi Nakamoto
There is no legitimate reason to care who Satoshi Nakamoto really is or how he (she/they/it/attack helicopter) perceives the current state of Bitcoin. This long running obsession with Satoshi’s identity, as well as the constant debate about what he would want for bitcoin, is both pointless and counter-productive. Many within the Bitcoin ecosystem are quick (and correct) to praise Satoshi Nakamoto for remaining anonymous and essentially disappearing. Ironically however, many of these same individuals obsess and opine about Satoshi’s “true vision” for Bitcoin - in doing so they make Satoshi’s disappearance essentially pointless.
A network’s physical decentralization is only valuable if it comes along with the decentralization of ideologies/personalities. We could have every household in the world running their own full Bitcoin node, but if the entire economy of the space revolves around what Satoshi Nakamoto’s “true vision” is, then the network (and more so the lager Bitcoin economy) becomes in many ways, centralized.
We need only to look at other large crypto projects to see the dangers that can be posed by personality cults. Take Ethereum for example: despite all its supposed accomplishments and potential, it essentially lives or dies with Vitalik Buterin. Were Vitalik to leave Ethereum or (worse yet) drop dead tomorrow, it would be cataclysmic to the Ethereum ecosystem. Perhaps it would be unfair to say the project would be destroyed entirely, but heavy damage would certainly be done. Vitalik Buterin has become a single point of failure for Ethereum due to the entire ecosystem revolving around him and his ideas. People are buying Ethereum because they want a stake in Vitalik Buterin, not in Ethereum.
It is baffling that (having watched this play out) some within the Bitcoin space continually try to force this founder-cultism onto Bitcoin. Satoshi could have died years ago. He could die tomorrow. He could die next week. It does not matter: that is part of Bitcoin’s true beauty. Why do some people seem to aim to take this unprecedented advantage away from Bitcoin? This phenomenon of obsessing over “original vision” is harmful, and it doesn’t really seem to have any real precedent in terms of technology. When was the last time you heard phone makers arguing about what Alexander Graham Bell’s “true vision” would have been? They don’t - it would be a nonsensical waste of time, and Bell’s opinions are essentially irrelevant to the space today.
Technology is ever changing. Insisting that words written a decade ago by an anonymous individual are somehow sacred, no matter how impactful they may have been, is not a path to progress/development. Even from the perspective of a “big block” advocate (it is these individuals who most often concern themselves with “Satoshi’s vision”) this line of thinking makes no sense. For argument’s sake, let’s say that there are numerous valid arguments for wanting larger blocks on the bitcoin blockchain. Even if this is the case, “because Satoshi said so” is a point which should not be counted amongst them. By taking this “Satoshi likes us better than you” mentality, the Bitcoin Cash camp is essentially holding up a sign to the world that says: “Our entire decentralized currency/ecosystem revolves around the vision of one singular entity.”
How is this thinking supposed to convince anyone that Bitcoin Cash is the true Bitcoin? Faster transaction times? Understandable. Lower fees? Great! Fewer required confirms? Cool.
“It has to be this way because Satoshi said so?” Fuck you, no it doesn’t.
Bitcoin should not be beholden to the whims of any single person or entity. People are getting into Bitcoin because they don’t want their wealth to be controlled by the decisions of individuals like Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen. But if we are simply trading Bernanke or Yellen for Satoshi as our monetary overlord, then what is the point? Satoshi understood this and so should you.
All things considered, the fixation on Satoshi Nakamoto makes no sense from any pro-bitcoin point of view: to see the thoughts of Satoshi Nakamoto as Bitcoin’s centerpiece is to take away Bitcoin’s greatest strength. Whether you prefer small block or big blocks, Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash - placing the future/direction of your decentralized network on the shoulders of one individual (who may well not exist any more) is nigh on suicidal. Furthermore, if you truly admire Satoshi and his true vision, then you must also come to three realizations: (1) Bitcoin is bigger than Satoshi, (2) Bitcoin does not need a leader, and (3) it is our duty as Bitcoin users today to say, “Fuck Satoshi”
