Satoshi Nakamoto’s Email to Wei Dai
The information that was written in the email sent by the creator of Bitcoin (BTC), Satoshi Nakamoto, has been revealed. The email, sent to computer scientist Wei Dai, is dated August 22, 2008, and contains valuable information about the early stages of Bitcoin’s development, the cryptocurrency that would revolutionize the financial world.
In his email, Satoshi expresses a deep interest in Wei Dai’s B-money page and reveals his plans to release an article that expands on Dai’s ideas for creating a fully functional working system.
Nakamoto noted that Adam Back, the cryptographer behind Hashcash, noticed similarities between Dai’s work and Satoshi’s project, which prompted him to direct Satoshi to Wei Dai’s website.
Who is Wei Dai?
Based on information provided by Wikipedia, Wei Dai is a computer engineer and cyberpunk who is well-known as the creator of B-money and a developer of the Crypto++ library.
In 1998, computer engineer Wei Dai published the concept of “anonymous distributed electronic cash,” essentially describing the future Bitcoin in a summarized form, including key encryption principles and mining mechanisms. Unfortunately, the project was never implemented, but Wei Dai became known in the cryptography sphere for his contributions to other projects, particularly VMAC (a message authentication code algorithm) and the discovery of vulnerabilities in SSH2 and SSL/TLS protocols. It’s worth noting that the smallest subunit of the second most popular cryptocurrency, Ethereum (Ether), is called “wei,” named in honor of Wei Dai.
Subsequently, Satoshi Nakamoto and Wei Dai communicated, discussing the Bitcoin project with other cyberpunks, although Wei Dai himself disagreed with the idea that he had influenced the creation of Bitcoin.
“…as far as I know, the creator of Bitcoin, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, didn’t even read my article before reinventing the idea himself. He learned about it afterward and mentioned me in his paper. So, my connection with the project is quite limited.”
Wei Dai on the influence of the b-money project on Bitcoin Further along the path of implementing anonymous money, Nicholas Szabo, another cypherpunk and computer scientist specializing in cryptography, made progress. He worked on digital contracts and digital currency. The term “smart contract,” which is now essential to any blockchain, was introduced by Nick Szabo. In 1998, Szabo developed the concept of a decentralized digital currency called “bit gold.” However, just like with b-money, the project was never realized. Due to the conceptual similarities between the mechanisms of bit gold and Bitcoin, along with some chronological coincidences, many believe that Nick Szabo is Satoshi Nakamoto, although he vehemently denies it. When asked the same question repeatedly, he says:
“I’m afraid you got it wrong calling me Satoshi, but I’m used to it.”
Contents of the Email
The key aspect of the email is Satoshi’s request for information from Wei Dai regarding the year of publication of the B-money page. He is seeking this information for proper citation in his future article.
Satoshi also provided a link to a draft version of his article titled “Electronic Cash Without a Trusted Third Party.” He urges Dai to download this draft and share it with anyone who may find it interesting.
In the abstract of the article, Satoshi outlines the main problem he aimed to solve: the need for a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash that would allow online payments to be made directly from one party to another without the need for financial intermediaries. Satoshi’s proposed solution involves the use of digital signatures and a peer-to-peer network.
“Digital signatures offer 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 abstract states.
The network would record transactions using a proof-of-work-based hash chain, creating an immutable record resistant to tampering. The longest chain would verify the sequence of events and establish transaction legitimacy based on the largest CPU power pool.
Satoshi’s vision of a decentralized, trustless system of digital currency, as outlined in this email and his subsequent technical document, laid the foundation for the development of Bitcoin.
Transformative Power of Cryptocurrency
The email adds an intriguing piece to Satoshi’s puzzle and offers valuable historical information about the early days of cryptocurrency. As the cryptocurrency space continues to evolve and expand, discovering such artifacts sheds light on the origins of this revolutionary technology and the innovative minds that brought it to life.
While Satoshi’s true identity may remain a mystery, his contributions to the world of finance and technology continue to manifest, as evidenced by the success of Bitcoin, which has become an investment instrument and a potential store of wealth.
Furthermore, thanks to the invention of Bitcoin, many problems have been resolved. Money transfers, as well as payment for services and goods using cryptocurrencies, are now available within seconds. In fact, cryptocurrency payments offer numerous advantages over cash or bank card payments, including:
- Cost-effectiveness when paying with cryptocurrency due to low fees (the fees depend on the blockchain network’s load). Unlike bank payments, cryptocurrency fees are calculated not as a percentage but as network fees and are significantly lower in cost.
- Speed of transactions, as each transfer occurs continuously, ensuring that funds reach the seller’s account promptly (it’s worth noting that payments with higher fees are prioritized when there is a significant volume of transactions).
The latest frontier in the world of digital technologies is Digital Gift Cards, which are among the most popular methods of payment in popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether. The most popular platforms offer these cards to simplify their use with various services include WhiteBIT, Binance, and Coingate.
Conclusion
Satoshi Nakamoto’s email to computer scientist Wei Dai is a significant artifact in the cryptocurrency world, offering insights into Bitcoin’s early development. It highlighted Satoshi’s aim to create a trustless, peer-to-peer digital cash system using digital signatures and a peer-to-peer network, laying the foundation for Bitcoin. These historical artifacts illuminate the origins of this revolutionary technology and Satoshi’s enduring influence on decentralized digital currency.
