Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious founder of Bitcoin, foresaw many of the challenges facing Bitcoin today, including its massive energy consumption and potential legal issues. Additionally, Nakamoto explored the potential non-financial applications of blockchain technology, such as being a digital notary.
The birth of Bitcoin sparked people’s imagination about new finance, but it also faced criticism regarding its energy consumption and legal scrutiny. Surprisingly, Nakamoto predicted these issues less than five months after the birth of Bitcoin.
According to Coindesk, an email recently made public by early Bitcoin collaborator Martii ‘Sirius’ Malmi reveals that in a May 2009 email, Nakamoto wrote that Proof of Work (PoW) was the only solution he discovered that allowed peer-to-peer electronic cash to operate without the need for trust in third parties. He acknowledged that PoW-based Bitcoin, as it grew, could become a significant consumer of energy. In response, Nakamoto stated, “If we have to choose between economic freedom and environmental conservation, it’s ironic.”
Nakamoto also foresaw that viewing Bitcoin as an investment could attract legal attention from regulatory agencies. There has been extensive debate among regulatory agencies as to whether to define cryptocurrencies as commodities or securities. Nakamoto expressed caution regarding such viewpoints.
Furthermore, although Nakamoto invented Bitcoin for financial applications (as a payment system), he also foresaw non-financial uses for blockchain technology. He believed that blockchain could serve as a public digital notary, securely timestamping various documents to prove their existence at a specific moment. He stated:
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