What do you think?
Rate this book
The Book Of Satoshi: The Collected Writings of Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto
Have you, like the rest of the world, speculated as to the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, anonymous creator of Bitcoin?
The world's first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin went online in 2009 and has since revolutionized our concepts of currency and money. Not supported by any government or central bank, completely electronic, Bitcoin is a virtual currency based on advanced cryptographic systems.
Like the currency he created, the identity of Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto is virtual, existing only online. The Nakamoto persona, which may represent an individual or a group, exists only in the online publications that introduced and explained Bitcoin during its earliest days. Here, collected and professionally published for the first time are the essential writings that detail Bitcoin's creation.
Included are:
-Satoshi Nakamoto Emails and Posts on Computer Forums Presented in Chronological Order
-Bitcoin Fundamentals Presented in Layman's Terms
-Bitcoin's Potential and Profound Economic Implications
-The Seminal Paper Which Started It All
The Book of Satoshi provides a convenient way to parse through what Bitcoin's creator wrote over the span of the two years that constituted his "public life" before he disappeared from the Internet . . . at least under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
Beginning on November 1st 2009 with the publication of the seminal paper describing Bitcoin, this public life ends at about the time PC World speculated as to a possible link between Bitcoin and WikiLeaks, the infamous website that publishes leaked classified materials. Was there a connection? You be the judge.
Nakamoto's true identity may never be known. Therefore the writings reproduced here are probably all the world will ever hear from him concerning Bitcoin's creation, workings, and theoretical basis. Want to learn more about Bitcoin? Go directly to the source-the writings of the creator himself, Satoshi Nakamoto!
The world's first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin went online in 2009 and has since revolutionized our concepts of currency and money. Not supported by any government or central bank, completely electronic, Bitcoin is a virtual currency based on advanced cryptographic systems.
Like the currency he created, the identity of Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto is virtual, existing only online. The Nakamoto persona, which may represent an individual or a group, exists only in the online publications that introduced and explained Bitcoin during its earliest days. Here, collected and professionally published for the first time are the essential writings that detail Bitcoin's creation.
Included are:
-Satoshi Nakamoto Emails and Posts on Computer Forums Presented in Chronological Order
-Bitcoin Fundamentals Presented in Layman's Terms
-Bitcoin's Potential and Profound Economic Implications
-The Seminal Paper Which Started It All
The Book of Satoshi provides a convenient way to parse through what Bitcoin's creator wrote over the span of the two years that constituted his "public life" before he disappeared from the Internet . . . at least under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
Beginning on November 1st 2009 with the publication of the seminal paper describing Bitcoin, this public life ends at about the time PC World speculated as to a possible link between Bitcoin and WikiLeaks, the infamous website that publishes leaked classified materials. Was there a connection? You be the judge.
Nakamoto's true identity may never be known. Therefore the writings reproduced here are probably all the world will ever hear from him concerning Bitcoin's creation, workings, and theoretical basis. Want to learn more about Bitcoin? Go directly to the source-the writings of the creator himself, Satoshi Nakamoto!
394 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2014
About the author
Phil Champagne
4 books7 followersPhil Champagne is the author of “The Book of Satoshi: The Collected Writings of Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto”, the best-selling first history book about bitcoin, which has been translated into over 7 languages. He’s also the author of “Bitcoin vs Altcoins: The Battle for Dominance” released in April 2023.
He has a background in computer software with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
Phil is the inventor/co-inventor of 12 patents filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is also a seasoned real estate and precious metal investor with more than 20 years of experience and is the managing director of Wren Investment Group, LLC, which he co-founded in 2011.
He has long held bitcoin, as well as traded and learned about many different altcoins featuring a wide variety of technologies.
His background in software engineering, combined with his passion for history, investments, and the Austrian School of Economics, naturally led him to explore and become a strong advocate of Bitcoin since 2012.
You can find my work at https://e53publishing.com/
My author website
https://philchampagne.com/
The Book of Satoshi
https://www.bookofsatoshi.com/
Bitcoin vs Altcoins
https://bitcoinvsaltcoinsbook.com/
For real estate investment inquiries https://wreninvestment.com/
Happy to connect with you more and talk about bitcoin, gold, silver, sound money, history and much much more on Twitter @egg_descrambler
He has a background in computer software with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
Phil is the inventor/co-inventor of 12 patents filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is also a seasoned real estate and precious metal investor with more than 20 years of experience and is the managing director of Wren Investment Group, LLC, which he co-founded in 2011.
He has long held bitcoin, as well as traded and learned about many different altcoins featuring a wide variety of technologies.
His background in software engineering, combined with his passion for history, investments, and the Austrian School of Economics, naturally led him to explore and become a strong advocate of Bitcoin since 2012.
You can find my work at https://e53publishing.com/
My author website
https://philchampagne.com/
The Book of Satoshi
https://www.bookofsatoshi.com/
Bitcoin vs Altcoins
https://bitcoinvsaltcoinsbook.com/
For real estate investment inquiries https://wreninvestment.com/
Happy to connect with you more and talk about bitcoin, gold, silver, sound money, history and much much more on Twitter @egg_descrambler
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
Read
August 4, 2020As a novice with near to very little Bitcoin knowledge, reading this book required a lot of note-taking and re-readings of the same lines.
Starting off with an introduction to the peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, terminologies related to it, and then a basic explanation of the complete system, the book helped me quite understand the world of decentralization, and then the massive-massive role played by blockchain. It talks about blockchain, but not in a way elaborative enough- what I felt, as a newbie.
Apart from that, It had some fascinating facts of the breakthrough, stories of Satoshi Nakamoto, and his responses (which is what the book is mostly about) to the queries related to Bitcoin. It is, I think, 75% such excerpts from the forum.
Reading this tailored volume, I personally felt like this wasn’t the right choice for me as somebody looking to understand Bitcoin from scratch. So I will say, it is not beginners’ friendly. The things, conditions discussed on the forum got wider and wider most of which went over my head. I skimmed and sometimes even skipped, ngl.
Eventually, what reading Book of Satoshi by Phil Champagne made me realize is that I need a much better understanding of blockchain and the hashing algorithms before diving in to pore over Bitcoin. So, will revisit this one back once I build a much stronger foundation on these big subjects, and then finally decide my rating for the book.
Starting off with an introduction to the peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, terminologies related to it, and then a basic explanation of the complete system, the book helped me quite understand the world of decentralization, and then the massive-massive role played by blockchain. It talks about blockchain, but not in a way elaborative enough- what I felt, as a newbie.
Apart from that, It had some fascinating facts of the breakthrough, stories of Satoshi Nakamoto, and his responses (which is what the book is mostly about) to the queries related to Bitcoin. It is, I think, 75% such excerpts from the forum.
Reading this tailored volume, I personally felt like this wasn’t the right choice for me as somebody looking to understand Bitcoin from scratch. So I will say, it is not beginners’ friendly. The things, conditions discussed on the forum got wider and wider most of which went over my head. I skimmed and sometimes even skipped, ngl.
Eventually, what reading Book of Satoshi by Phil Champagne made me realize is that I need a much better understanding of blockchain and the hashing algorithms before diving in to pore over Bitcoin. So, will revisit this one back once I build a much stronger foundation on these big subjects, and then finally decide my rating for the book.
Read
February 18, 2021Satoshi Nakamoto was the creator of the Bitcoin protocol, but we have no idea who he, she, or they were (For purposes of this review I will refer to him as he since that is how Satoshi identified in his emails). This book is a collection of his public writings during the period when Satoshi was active on a cryptography forum and first began developing the idea. The writings, so to speak, are largely technical and undramatic. Satoshi was laser-set on developing the code for this program, testing it out, and proving why it would work. He did however seem to be aware of the world-changing implications of what he was developing, making references to the failures of the banking system that was then being bailed out by the public and expressing concern about premature public scrutiny of the project. Shortly after a news article suggesting Wikileaks that accept bitcoin donations, he disappeared from public communications effectively for good.
This is not an accessible beginners book on Bitcoin, but something more appropriate for anyone trying to understand the potential revolution that stems for its creation. Even a layperson like myself with limited knowledge of computer programming was able to appreciate the elegance and logic of Satoshi's system and the implications it may have for the world of banking that we have been conditioned to accept as normal. Once it appears contingent, it doesn't seem very normal or acceptable at all. Early on, Satoshi seemed to grasp that Bitcoin would be most useful as a store of value rather than a tool for early transactions. He compared it to gold in one email, laying out the respective characteristics side by side. Bitcoin has none of the aesthetic or cultural connotations of gold. But it does have the magical ability to be transmitted at the speed of information. That makes it valuable, at least potentially, especially in the age of instant global communication of which are still in the infancy.
If Satoshi really is one single person, I commend him for creating something for the world for reasons other than the feeding of ego. His public correspondence evinced no grandiosity, but rather a hardheaded focus on solving a problem, as well as a fascinating knowledge about the nature and history of global financial system that suggests someone who was not simply a programmer per se. As of this writing his last public communication was seven years ago, where he resurfaced to briefly dispute rumors that a man identified in the press as Dorian Nakomoto was in fact him.
This is not an accessible beginners book on Bitcoin, but something more appropriate for anyone trying to understand the potential revolution that stems for its creation. Even a layperson like myself with limited knowledge of computer programming was able to appreciate the elegance and logic of Satoshi's system and the implications it may have for the world of banking that we have been conditioned to accept as normal. Once it appears contingent, it doesn't seem very normal or acceptable at all. Early on, Satoshi seemed to grasp that Bitcoin would be most useful as a store of value rather than a tool for early transactions. He compared it to gold in one email, laying out the respective characteristics side by side. Bitcoin has none of the aesthetic or cultural connotations of gold. But it does have the magical ability to be transmitted at the speed of information. That makes it valuable, at least potentially, especially in the age of instant global communication of which are still in the infancy.
If Satoshi really is one single person, I commend him for creating something for the world for reasons other than the feeding of ego. His public correspondence evinced no grandiosity, but rather a hardheaded focus on solving a problem, as well as a fascinating knowledge about the nature and history of global financial system that suggests someone who was not simply a programmer per se. As of this writing his last public communication was seven years ago, where he resurfaced to briefly dispute rumors that a man identified in the press as Dorian Nakomoto was in fact him.
March 4, 2018
4.5 stars. Given all that has transpired with crypto this is a pretty amazing book. It puts you right back in the forums where the ideas about bitcoin were being "hashed" out, ha ha get it?
I've read and listened to countless podcasts on crypto, but I still got a lot out of this. Satoshi man, hats off to you, and thanks Phil for compiling this text.
I've read and listened to countless podcasts on crypto, but I still got a lot out of this. Satoshi man, hats off to you, and thanks Phil for compiling this text.
October 2, 2021
I would not recommend this book to complete beginners or people with no technical knowledge about blockchain or cryptography whatsoever. This is probably my 6-7th Bitcoin book that I’ve read, and I think it came at a pretty good time for me. As I understand the basic mechanisms and the ‘why’ of Bitcoin, I am getting more and more interested in the ‘how’ of Bitcoin. Admittedly, much of the book went over my head as I do not have a technical background and my understanding of crypto is largely through “explain it to me like I’m 5” examples. But that being said, it was a pretty cool voyeuristic view into Bitcoin’s creation. As a relative newbie, I always wish I was savvy enough (financial reasons aside) to be involved in the space back then (even if only as a fan/interested observer). This compilation of posts gave me a bit of that feeling. Reading these conversations was like being a fly on the wall during, what I believe, the creation of one of the most revolutionary/disruptive technologies of my lifetime.
July 7, 2019
This is an essential collection of forum exchanges and writings of Bitcoin's founder Satoshi Nakamoto, written circa 2008-2010. Of the 3 books on Bitcoin, I've read thus far, including "Digital Gold", and "The Age of Cryptocurrency", this one is by far the most informative, focusing purely on the motivation and thinking behind the construction and early refinement of the Bitcoin architecture. The problem with many contemporary tellings of the Bitcoin story is many authors (mostly journalist) who have attempted it, seem to inevitably attempt to ape the "Social Network"/"Big Short" heist-like narrative of a group of miscreants/outcasts, raging (figuratively) against the machine to birth something "great".
This perspective is not only false in many cases but has become tired. Although lacking in formal narrative what the "Book of Satoshi" does well is to show the reader the step-by-step struggles of puzzling through the notion of a decentralized non-trust based currency system, many of the details, the conceptual point/counterpoints, and how they were resolved, and despite the subject-matter of cryptocurrency falling well within the domain of computer science and/or applied discrete mathematics, the exchanges of Satoshi Nakamoto and his colleagues is easy enough to understand for a reasonably intelligent person to grok listening while jogging, with little rewind/playback.
Anyone who's even thought a little about BItcoin has thought immediately about possible exploits, and "The Book of Satoshi" thankfully introduces the most famous of these exploits early on in the narrative (which I believe is ordered chronologically), the "51% attack". Since Bitcoin is a non-trust based decentralized currency, Nakamoto explains that "CPU time" (or GPU time as was the case after 2010 and 2011) is an instrument for trust, and he goes into intricate detail on how the blockchain works within the context of a peer-2-peer system when there are potentially many different versions of the "current" ledger, which involves a validation by voting across the network. In this context, the natural exploit many have come up with is the 51% attack, the idea that if enough systems were commandeered by a malicious group or antagonist nation-state, enough computing cycles could be deployed to alternative (and wrong) ledgers that could pierce the veracity of the record, allowing wholesale faulty redistribution of capital between the current accounts, the so-called "double-spend" conundrum.
The exchange between Nakomoto and his colleagues here is great because it shows that good ideas do not spring fully-formed from minds of inscrutable geniuses, but are often half-formed and often the founders themselves had incomplete solutions to challenges they faced, but Post Hoc the solution that eventually came about seems magically simple and exhaustive, and hence, genius. Nakomoto here gave a feasibility argument that practically no group of exploiters, that is those who often run 'zombie farms' could wield enough run-cycles to overturn the true ledger in such a voting scheme on account of scale in order of magnitude, since these groups often wield farms of 100k commodity boxes vs 10 million or more. Further, Nakomoto argues, any such entity/group that could yield this kind of compute-resources would just deploy it to mining bitcoin, since cycle-time deployed to that activity would yield more revenue than attempting to cheat the system. This is a surprisingly "economist"-like argument answers the question by not answering the question. Yes, assuming all agents within the network had a pure profit-objective, this is "probably" correct. It is also the case that the scope of actions possible by the "51-percent" holder would be limited in that they would not be able to introduce new transactions to the ledger, yet it's clear that such an exploiter could deal a lot of damage to the system if their objective was pure malice with a political and/or other non-profit based motivation. Clearly, this won't be the last word on this matter. Adversarial algorithms are just starting to lift off in the field of machine learning, and I imagine cross-pollinating applications in that to these kinds of exploit challenges.
Other topics covered by the book include Nakamoto's thoughts on transaction costs, inflation, the mechanics of adding blocks to the block-chain, including some exploration on cases where two competing, but single-spend blocks are being added to the ledger, how this ledger system, the "proof of work" resolves the Byzantine's Generals Problem" from discrete mathematics and networking etc. There is also some minor discussion on more traditional "currency and money" topics including some discussion on central banking, the problem of regulations and money supply challenges that Bitcoin could help solve in a "fair" manner. What's clear though is Nakotmo was/is a technologist, and his views on these topics are sparse (at least from his writings). Contrary to what some would also believe, Nakotmo also seems to have very tentative readings into traditional libertarian writings, like those of Hayek and Von-Mises, though both are mentioned in some of his posts.
More interesting are the later posts, where the Cryptography group discuss how this bourgeoning system would interact with traditional currency/transaction systems in-place in the world today. Some topics here include what would happen if there was a war between China and the US, and the bitcoin ledger was bifurcated? In 2010, a fantastical notion, but potentially more prescient with respect to today's headlines, at least in the financial/economic/technological realms. There also includes a series of posts dealing with versioning and updates, which are less relevant to a more generalist audience, but still interesting as a historical text. Others still are superfluous to most, but again interesting as a historical curiosity, like the groups attempt to prevent the "Bitcoin" on Wikipedia from being deleted in the early days of the 2010s.
This is great reading. I've since gone on to start working through a formal textbook published by PUP on this subject, Arvind Narayanan et. al. text "Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies". Which should be read first, or perhaps concurrently, I can't say for sure at the moment. However, if one wants to read just one book on Bitcoin, this is the one I'd pick up if it's just 2, I'd check out this one and "The Age of Cryptocurrency". Highly recommended
This perspective is not only false in many cases but has become tired. Although lacking in formal narrative what the "Book of Satoshi" does well is to show the reader the step-by-step struggles of puzzling through the notion of a decentralized non-trust based currency system, many of the details, the conceptual point/counterpoints, and how they were resolved, and despite the subject-matter of cryptocurrency falling well within the domain of computer science and/or applied discrete mathematics, the exchanges of Satoshi Nakamoto and his colleagues is easy enough to understand for a reasonably intelligent person to grok listening while jogging, with little rewind/playback.
Anyone who's even thought a little about BItcoin has thought immediately about possible exploits, and "The Book of Satoshi" thankfully introduces the most famous of these exploits early on in the narrative (which I believe is ordered chronologically), the "51% attack". Since Bitcoin is a non-trust based decentralized currency, Nakamoto explains that "CPU time" (or GPU time as was the case after 2010 and 2011) is an instrument for trust, and he goes into intricate detail on how the blockchain works within the context of a peer-2-peer system when there are potentially many different versions of the "current" ledger, which involves a validation by voting across the network. In this context, the natural exploit many have come up with is the 51% attack, the idea that if enough systems were commandeered by a malicious group or antagonist nation-state, enough computing cycles could be deployed to alternative (and wrong) ledgers that could pierce the veracity of the record, allowing wholesale faulty redistribution of capital between the current accounts, the so-called "double-spend" conundrum.
The exchange between Nakomoto and his colleagues here is great because it shows that good ideas do not spring fully-formed from minds of inscrutable geniuses, but are often half-formed and often the founders themselves had incomplete solutions to challenges they faced, but Post Hoc the solution that eventually came about seems magically simple and exhaustive, and hence, genius. Nakomoto here gave a feasibility argument that practically no group of exploiters, that is those who often run 'zombie farms' could wield enough run-cycles to overturn the true ledger in such a voting scheme on account of scale in order of magnitude, since these groups often wield farms of 100k commodity boxes vs 10 million or more. Further, Nakomoto argues, any such entity/group that could yield this kind of compute-resources would just deploy it to mining bitcoin, since cycle-time deployed to that activity would yield more revenue than attempting to cheat the system. This is a surprisingly "economist"-like argument answers the question by not answering the question. Yes, assuming all agents within the network had a pure profit-objective, this is "probably" correct. It is also the case that the scope of actions possible by the "51-percent" holder would be limited in that they would not be able to introduce new transactions to the ledger, yet it's clear that such an exploiter could deal a lot of damage to the system if their objective was pure malice with a political and/or other non-profit based motivation. Clearly, this won't be the last word on this matter. Adversarial algorithms are just starting to lift off in the field of machine learning, and I imagine cross-pollinating applications in that to these kinds of exploit challenges.
Other topics covered by the book include Nakamoto's thoughts on transaction costs, inflation, the mechanics of adding blocks to the block-chain, including some exploration on cases where two competing, but single-spend blocks are being added to the ledger, how this ledger system, the "proof of work" resolves the Byzantine's Generals Problem" from discrete mathematics and networking etc. There is also some minor discussion on more traditional "currency and money" topics including some discussion on central banking, the problem of regulations and money supply challenges that Bitcoin could help solve in a "fair" manner. What's clear though is Nakotmo was/is a technologist, and his views on these topics are sparse (at least from his writings). Contrary to what some would also believe, Nakotmo also seems to have very tentative readings into traditional libertarian writings, like those of Hayek and Von-Mises, though both are mentioned in some of his posts.
More interesting are the later posts, where the Cryptography group discuss how this bourgeoning system would interact with traditional currency/transaction systems in-place in the world today. Some topics here include what would happen if there was a war between China and the US, and the bitcoin ledger was bifurcated? In 2010, a fantastical notion, but potentially more prescient with respect to today's headlines, at least in the financial/economic/technological realms. There also includes a series of posts dealing with versioning and updates, which are less relevant to a more generalist audience, but still interesting as a historical text. Others still are superfluous to most, but again interesting as a historical curiosity, like the groups attempt to prevent the "Bitcoin" on Wikipedia from being deleted in the early days of the 2010s.
This is great reading. I've since gone on to start working through a formal textbook published by PUP on this subject, Arvind Narayanan et. al. text "Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies". Which should be read first, or perhaps concurrently, I can't say for sure at the moment. However, if one wants to read just one book on Bitcoin, this is the one I'd pick up if it's just 2, I'd check out this one and "The Age of Cryptocurrency". Highly recommended
May 5, 2021
Recopilación de mails del creador (o creadores) del Bitcoin. Una red peer to peer que crea y valida una moneda electrónica. Si bien en algunos pasajes es un poco repetitivo y técnico, sirve para entender y conocer del tema. Se destaca la inteligencia para crear el software, como se encontró el modo de dejar afuera a los bancos como agentes de confianza, toda la red es la que valida las transacciones.
September 30, 2021
گردآوری نوشتههای جناب ساتوشی ناکاموتو خالق نامعلوم بیت کوین رو میتونید اینجا بخونید که بفهمید چیشد که اینطوری شد.
June 9, 2020
The Book of Satoshi is the definitive collection of the writings of Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of Bitcoin. The invention of a frictionless, low fee, instant, censorship resistant and international digital cash system was the greatest of the 21st century. The idea that money could be sent anywhere, anytime for next to no cost and instantaneously captured the imagination of a generation of young tech enthusiast, students of economics and digital natives, for whom an on-line currency made perfect sense.
Aside from the man’s invention, Satoshi was undeniably one of the greatest minds in the field of computer science and engineering. His ideas presented though his writings seem perfectly formed, his writing style is perfection and error free as far as I can tell. I absolutely cherished every word of this collection, reading the words of a great mind has a way of making me feel smart and this is a great example of that, Satoshi’s explanations are so simple crystal clear it feels as if the invention is obvious, we are all left feeling like we could have invented it, that we are all Satoshi.
It is hard for me to understand the type of mind that could have produced what Satoshi did, the only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that Satoshi was an academic or state sponsored team of computer scientists. Any normal human would have released the ideas but not the code, or the code but have been unable to explain it as clearly. All evidence is that Satoshi was just a man who spoke British English, had an academic career and lived in the Western hemisphere. But how one man could be such an intellectual giant as to have invented Bitcoin AND have the foresight to understand the importance of staying anonymous. It is just too much to comprehend.
One man started a revolution, one that no one know where or how it will end. In the end, it may be that this one may will be responsible for the downfall of the internationally banking cartel that has ruthlessly run the world for 100’s of years. Satoshi was the hero we all needed right when we needed him. It is only a testament to his greatness that Satoshi and his invention was immediately and continuously attacked by trolls like Greg Maxwell, the legacy banking industry through funding anti-Bitcoin corporations like Blockstream, and funding anti-Bitcoin legislation.
April 17, 2021
Highly technical and a great explanation on the motivation for parts of Bitcoin's architecture.
Notes:
- Early bitcoin faucets gave out 5 BTC
- The longest proof of work chain always wins. Think of Bitcoin like a distributed clock server.
- Originally you could send BTC to an IP address
- Satoshi didn't want wikileaks to use Bitcoin after Paypal froze their assets. He was concerned that Bitcoin couldn't handle the increased attention ("kicking the hornet's nest") at the time.
- Hal Finney had ALS but did some cool automation projects to preserve some of his independence.
- ECDSA is used for public / private key cryptography in Bitcoin
Format: Audible
Notes:
- Early bitcoin faucets gave out 5 BTC
- The longest proof of work chain always wins. Think of Bitcoin like a distributed clock server.
- Originally you could send BTC to an IP address
- Satoshi didn't want wikileaks to use Bitcoin after Paypal froze their assets. He was concerned that Bitcoin couldn't handle the increased attention ("kicking the hornet's nest") at the time.
- Hal Finney had ALS but did some cool automation projects to preserve some of his independence.
- ECDSA is used for public / private key cryptography in Bitcoin
Format: Audible
June 15, 2021
This book gives a surprising albeit brief insight into an extraordinarily intelligent person, whose identity remains a mystery. Not only does Satoshi have a deep understanding of the financial system (with seemingly strong Libertarian tendencies), 'he' is also an excellent software engineer, thinking about Bitcoin's flaws in terms of performance and vulnerabilities, constantly open to debating challenging questions from the wider crypto community. I'd thoroughly recommend reading this book if you're into Bitcoin and want to understand what Satoshi originally set out when building v1.
May 22, 2021
Great look inside the mind behind Bitcoin
This was an enjoyable look through the forum posts, responses, and the white paper for Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto, whoever they may be. It shows that Satoshi thought of so much beforehand, and that the idea of the blockchain is here to stay and will dominate every facet of every industry. You don’t need to understand much math or coding, as those specific parts are maybe 1% of the book and not essential to getting the gist of it.
This was an enjoyable look through the forum posts, responses, and the white paper for Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto, whoever they may be. It shows that Satoshi thought of so much beforehand, and that the idea of the blockchain is here to stay and will dominate every facet of every industry. You don’t need to understand much math or coding, as those specific parts are maybe 1% of the book and not essential to getting the gist of it.
October 24, 2017
Inside the genius mind of bitcoin’s creator
...not really...this book is more a collection of thought and debates that Satoshi himself made during the early days of Bitcoin. This book is for you to understand more about Bitcoin, how it works, how it scales, what its creator’s vision at the inception stage...and it’s awesome as always to read the thought of a genius...
...not really...this book is more a collection of thought and debates that Satoshi himself made during the early days of Bitcoin. This book is for you to understand more about Bitcoin, how it works, how it scales, what its creator’s vision at the inception stage...and it’s awesome as always to read the thought of a genius...
Read
December 28, 2021Only 21 million bitcoins will ever come into existence. The last bitcoin is expected to be created around the year 2140.
The smallest denomination allowed by the current software is 0.00000001 BTC (10-8 BTC), which has been defined as 1 satoshi. There are therefore 100 million satoshis in a single bitcoin, and thus the maximum supply of 21 million BTC will be equal to 2,100 trillion satoshis.
To understand the genesis block, imagine a bookkeeping ledger that adds new pages (blocks) daily and contains a record of all bitcoin transactions ever made. The very first page of this book is called the genesis block. Satoshi incorporated this interesting quote into the genesis block: "THE TIMES 03/JAN/2009 CHANCELLOR ON BRINK OF SECOND BAILOUT FOR BANKS"
His last known communication is a private email sent a few months later to Gavin Andresen, current Lead Core Developer of the Bitcoin project.
Byzantine Generals Problem, considered unsolvable
PayPal stopped processing payments for WikiLeaks. PC World magazine conjectured how WikiLeaks could benefit from Bitcoin.
At its core, Bitcoin incorporates the following concepts:
• A public ledger (called Bitcoin’s block chain). Consider this as essentially a giant book that is publicly available and contains the bookkeeping records of all transactions ever made in the Bitcoin system, with new pages constantly being added.
• A cryptographic algorithm called asymmetric encryption used for authorization of the transactions.
• A distributed network of computer nodes (also commonly known as miners) that verify and validate Bitcoin transactions and update the public ledger.
Several types of hash algorithm have been created, and Bitcoin uses two of them: SHA-256 for the proof-of-work and RIPEMD160 for the Bitcoin address.
By around the year 2140, all bitcoins will be mined, and miners will be rewarded solely with transaction fees.
The number within the Bitcoin block that is tested against the threshold value is known as the “nonce”
As in a lottery, the miners buying the most “tickets” (i.e., generating the most numbers of SHA-256 output) have a better chance of finding a number having the correct number of 0s. This requirement of the Bitcoin system has led to a race to create hardware capable of generating more hash per second.
Bitcoin operates like an ongoing lottery game restarting every 10 minutes. Who will be the lucky miner to find a nonce with the correct characteristics?
Open source software is computer software whose source code is available for anyone to see.
21 million. Once reached, what could prevent someone from increasing this limit? Nothing really, but he would need the cooperation of the majority of miners for this change to be accepted. Even were the majority of miners to agree to lift this restriction, if all did not agree, then a split in the block chain would result. Those in favor of lifting the restriction would use one version of the block chain while those not in favor would use a different version. In effect, we would have two virtual currencies rather than one, the “original Bitcoin” and a “Quantitative Easing Bitcoin”.
“triple-entry bookkeeping” as it revolutionizes accounting.
The poor and, to some extent, the middle class are the most affected by currency inflation while the rich use debt and various financial derivatives to acquire companies and income-producing commercial real estate. They know the debt will be devalued along with the currency, providing an artificially obtained additional gain.
The smallest denomination allowed by the current software is 0.00000001 BTC (10-8 BTC), which has been defined as 1 satoshi. There are therefore 100 million satoshis in a single bitcoin, and thus the maximum supply of 21 million BTC will be equal to 2,100 trillion satoshis.
To understand the genesis block, imagine a bookkeeping ledger that adds new pages (blocks) daily and contains a record of all bitcoin transactions ever made. The very first page of this book is called the genesis block. Satoshi incorporated this interesting quote into the genesis block: "THE TIMES 03/JAN/2009 CHANCELLOR ON BRINK OF SECOND BAILOUT FOR BANKS"
His last known communication is a private email sent a few months later to Gavin Andresen, current Lead Core Developer of the Bitcoin project.
Byzantine Generals Problem, considered unsolvable
PayPal stopped processing payments for WikiLeaks. PC World magazine conjectured how WikiLeaks could benefit from Bitcoin.
At its core, Bitcoin incorporates the following concepts:
• A public ledger (called Bitcoin’s block chain). Consider this as essentially a giant book that is publicly available and contains the bookkeeping records of all transactions ever made in the Bitcoin system, with new pages constantly being added.
• A cryptographic algorithm called asymmetric encryption used for authorization of the transactions.
• A distributed network of computer nodes (also commonly known as miners) that verify and validate Bitcoin transactions and update the public ledger.
Several types of hash algorithm have been created, and Bitcoin uses two of them: SHA-256 for the proof-of-work and RIPEMD160 for the Bitcoin address.
By around the year 2140, all bitcoins will be mined, and miners will be rewarded solely with transaction fees.
The number within the Bitcoin block that is tested against the threshold value is known as the “nonce”
As in a lottery, the miners buying the most “tickets” (i.e., generating the most numbers of SHA-256 output) have a better chance of finding a number having the correct number of 0s. This requirement of the Bitcoin system has led to a race to create hardware capable of generating more hash per second.
Bitcoin operates like an ongoing lottery game restarting every 10 minutes. Who will be the lucky miner to find a nonce with the correct characteristics?
Open source software is computer software whose source code is available for anyone to see.
21 million. Once reached, what could prevent someone from increasing this limit? Nothing really, but he would need the cooperation of the majority of miners for this change to be accepted. Even were the majority of miners to agree to lift this restriction, if all did not agree, then a split in the block chain would result. Those in favor of lifting the restriction would use one version of the block chain while those not in favor would use a different version. In effect, we would have two virtual currencies rather than one, the “original Bitcoin” and a “Quantitative Easing Bitcoin”.
“triple-entry bookkeeping” as it revolutionizes accounting.
The poor and, to some extent, the middle class are the most affected by currency inflation while the rich use debt and various financial derivatives to acquire companies and income-producing commercial real estate. They know the debt will be devalued along with the currency, providing an artificially obtained additional gain.
May 13, 2020
Book of Satoshi: The Collected Writings of Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto, 1st Edition
https://AudioBookReviews.com
Oct 28, 2019 · 3 min read
Get the full audio version of this book for free here: https://www.audiobookreviews.com/sing...
The Book of Satoshi is the definitive collection of the writings of Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of Bitcoin. The invention of a frictionless, low fee, instant, censorship resistant and international digital cash system was the greatest of the 21st century. The idea that money could be sent anywhere, anytime for next to no cost and instantaneously captured the imagination of a generation of young tech enthusiast, students of economics and digital natives, for whom an on-line currency made perfect sense.
Aside from the man’s invention, Satoshi was undeniably one of the greatest minds in the field of computer science and engineering. His ideas presented though his writings seem perfectly formed, his writing style is perfection and error free as far as I can tell. I absolutely cherished every word of this collection, reading the words of a great mind has a way of making me feel smart and this is a great example of that, Satoshi’s explanations are so simple crystal clear it feels as if the invention is obvious, we are all left feeling like we could have invented it, that we are all Satoshi.
It is hard for me to understand the type of mind that could have produced what Satoshi did, the only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that Satoshi was an academic or state sponsored team of computer scientists. Any normal human would have released the ideas but not the code, or the code but have been unable to explain it as clearly. All evidence is that Satoshi was just a man who spoke British English, had an academic career and lived in the Western hemisphere. But how one man could be such an intellectual giant as to have invented Bitcoin AND have the foresight to understand the importance of staying anonymous. It is just too much to comprehend.
One man started a revolution, one that no one know where or how it will end. In the end, it may be that this one may will be responsible for the downfall of the internationally banking cartel that has ruthlessly run the world for 100’s of years. Satoshi was the hero we all needed right when we needed him. It is only a testament to his greatness that Satoshi and his invention was immediately and continuously attacked by trolls like Greg Maxwell, the legacy banking industry through funding anti-Bitcoin corporations like Blockstream, and funding anti-Bitcoin legislation.
Get the full audiobook for free here: https://www.audiobookreviews.com/sing...
Find more reviews at AudioBookReviews.com
https://AudioBookReviews.com
Oct 28, 2019 · 3 min read
Get the full audio version of this book for free here: https://www.audiobookreviews.com/sing...
The Book of Satoshi is the definitive collection of the writings of Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of Bitcoin. The invention of a frictionless, low fee, instant, censorship resistant and international digital cash system was the greatest of the 21st century. The idea that money could be sent anywhere, anytime for next to no cost and instantaneously captured the imagination of a generation of young tech enthusiast, students of economics and digital natives, for whom an on-line currency made perfect sense.
Aside from the man’s invention, Satoshi was undeniably one of the greatest minds in the field of computer science and engineering. His ideas presented though his writings seem perfectly formed, his writing style is perfection and error free as far as I can tell. I absolutely cherished every word of this collection, reading the words of a great mind has a way of making me feel smart and this is a great example of that, Satoshi’s explanations are so simple crystal clear it feels as if the invention is obvious, we are all left feeling like we could have invented it, that we are all Satoshi.
It is hard for me to understand the type of mind that could have produced what Satoshi did, the only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that Satoshi was an academic or state sponsored team of computer scientists. Any normal human would have released the ideas but not the code, or the code but have been unable to explain it as clearly. All evidence is that Satoshi was just a man who spoke British English, had an academic career and lived in the Western hemisphere. But how one man could be such an intellectual giant as to have invented Bitcoin AND have the foresight to understand the importance of staying anonymous. It is just too much to comprehend.
One man started a revolution, one that no one know where or how it will end. In the end, it may be that this one may will be responsible for the downfall of the internationally banking cartel that has ruthlessly run the world for 100’s of years. Satoshi was the hero we all needed right when we needed him. It is only a testament to his greatness that Satoshi and his invention was immediately and continuously attacked by trolls like Greg Maxwell, the legacy banking industry through funding anti-Bitcoin corporations like Blockstream, and funding anti-Bitcoin legislation.
Get the full audiobook for free here: https://www.audiobookreviews.com/sing...
Find more reviews at AudioBookReviews.com
April 23, 2024
this book collects satoshi nakamoto's main writings: bitcoin's whitepaper, his posts on the bitcointalk forum and emails to the cypherpunk community. an absolutely fascinating read: it covers two years of objections and replies between satoshi and either early bitcoin enthusiasts or skeptic cryptographers, from the introduction of bitcoin to the world in november 2008 to his last email to gavin andresen in the midst of wikileaks' debanking scandal in december 2010, wishing people would stop referring to him as a "shadowy pirate".
since we're barely catching up to everything bitcoin implies, i can see a not so distant future in which these texts will be studied as the foundation of 21st century economics, finance, culture and philosophy.
as most beautiful things do, it all started with a simple phrase: "i've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party."
since we're barely catching up to everything bitcoin implies, i can see a not so distant future in which these texts will be studied as the foundation of 21st century economics, finance, culture and philosophy.
as most beautiful things do, it all started with a simple phrase: "i've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party."
September 9, 2020
Disclaimer: I bought the audio version of this book and my review is based on that.
I was looking for a book to understand the basics of blockchain in general and bitcoin in specific in a time where everybody was describing the technology according to their own view which not the right way to learn.
This book provided what I need by presenting the original posts and discussions on the features and concepts related to Bitcoin and Blockchain, it was fun to know the history of the bitcoin along with the technical decisions made while creating it.
I can describe this book as a mix between bitcoin history and technical decisions made to make it what it is, would recommend it for enthusiasts and beginners but not for professionals!.
I was looking for a book to understand the basics of blockchain in general and bitcoin in specific in a time where everybody was describing the technology according to their own view which not the right way to learn.
This book provided what I need by presenting the original posts and discussions on the features and concepts related to Bitcoin and Blockchain, it was fun to know the history of the bitcoin along with the technical decisions made while creating it.
I can describe this book as a mix between bitcoin history and technical decisions made to make it what it is, would recommend it for enthusiasts and beginners but not for professionals!.
February 14, 2017
You wanted to know about Satoshi Nakamoto, well this "book" presents in an orderly manner many of his blog entries. The material covers from late 2008 to late 2010, which was the period in which Satoshi had a "public" life. The author gives some context to his writings which is worth something. I also was looking for an accompanying audio version (this book has it), but it is hardly a book from my point of view. If you are really interested in the topic, it is worth your time. If you want a colorful description and history of bitcoin I recommend Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money.
September 18, 2017
If you are interested in Bitcoin, and the thought process that went into it, this is one of the primary books you should add to your collection. Champagne has selected a series of the Bitcoin creators posts on Bitcoin as he was releasing the beta source code. An individual who has remained private despite the explosion in Bitcoin's popularity and value, he went by the name Satoshi Nakamoto. His posts are incredibly lucid and thoughtful regarding the nascent cryptocurrency, and what it was designed to achieve.
See my other reviews here!
See my other reviews here!
November 26, 2017
In retrospect this is the first book about Bitcoin I should have read though non technical people will find some if not most parts to be unwelcoming. I first got interested in blockchains in 2014 and I thought they were going to change the world but the more I read the more I realized there is no talking about blockchains without Bitcoin. You need to understand Bitcoin and it's implications for the future in order to understand blockchains and the promise that it holds. Simply put Bitcoin is a censorship resistant asset.
March 8, 2024
Following the tragic loss of my husband, a U.S. citizen, to a heart attack caused by a scammer, I was able to recover my Bitcoin through the help of Brunoe Quick Hack. Seeking assistance from brunoequickhack AT DOT Gmail Com in the cyber domain proved fruitful as we successfully recovered the funds for myself and my children. The sorrow of my husband's untimely demise due to scammers remains a poignant memory. I stand firm against scammers and urge everyone to rally together in seeking retribution. Join our cause by reaching out on WhatsApp at +1 (705) 7842-635.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2024
Keine leichte Kost. S. N. ist ein kluger Geist, mathematisch, wirtschaftlich, politisch, kryptographisch und informationstechnologisch. Ich denke, dass es sich um eine Einzelperson handelt, die 2007 die Zeichen der Zeit erkannt hat und zwei Jahre später das Bitcoinprotokoll der Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt hat. Nur für wirklich Interessierte, die sich nicht zu schade sind, etwas über den Tellerrand zu schauen.
June 11, 2017
It is what it is.
Simply all the collected writings and conversations relevant to Satoshi and Bitcoin.
Teaches quite a bit but perhaps a book that is more linear would work better.
Learning Bitcoin from the basics, up.
If you are new to bitcoin, I believe there are other books that would help answer your questions more effectively and in an organized manner.
Simply all the collected writings and conversations relevant to Satoshi and Bitcoin.
Teaches quite a bit but perhaps a book that is more linear would work better.
Learning Bitcoin from the basics, up.
If you are new to bitcoin, I believe there are other books that would help answer your questions more effectively and in an organized manner.
February 1, 2023
Extremely interesting book. Definitely not a book I'd recommend for understanding how Bitcoin works. However, curious minds who want to know verbatim what Satoshi said will be pleased.
It chronologically collects forum posts by Satoshi and/or answers. We get to see Bitcoin's evolution and Satoshi's concerns along the way, until he disappeared.
It chronologically collects forum posts by Satoshi and/or answers. We get to see Bitcoin's evolution and Satoshi's concerns along the way, until he disappeared.
September 9, 2023
Thorough exploration of the history of the modern blockchain. Helpful to have a grasp of concepts like peer-to-peer technology and other programming concepts but not necessary for understanding.
Provides a great insight into how blockchains work “under the hood”, and explores how the bitcoin blockchain pioneered true decentralization and evolved over time.
Provides a great insight into how blockchains work “under the hood”, and explores how the bitcoin blockchain pioneered true decentralization and evolved over time.
July 23, 2020
The closest thing Bitcoin can have to a genesis story. Great explanations diving into Satoshi's thought processes and concerns with the fledgling Bitcoin. Would highly recommended to anyone that is interested in Bitcoin.
March 6, 2021
Me resultó fascinante leer prácticamente toda la huella de Satoshi Nakamoto en este mundo. Es como presenciar el nacimiento de una revolución segundo a segundo. Ante el anonimato del creador de Bitcoin, esto es todo lo que tenemos y resulta ser suficiente.
May 17, 2021
Firstly I thought it was written by the real Satoshi Nakamoto, lol.
Jokes aside, the book is a great introduction to the world of Finance 3.0, and Bitcoin (as a reflection of this world) itself. Explains the philosophy and principles of the new Era and its founders. 10/10
Jokes aside, the book is a great introduction to the world of Finance 3.0, and Bitcoin (as a reflection of this world) itself. Explains the philosophy and principles of the new Era and its founders. 10/10
November 18, 2021
I tried to soak in as much as I could, but the honest truth is that I have never felt so limited in understanding a new subject. Nevertheless it is clear that the "Digital Renesanse" is here to stay regardless of whether it is easy for people to understand it or not.
December 5, 2021
What else would convince you.
The words of Satoshi alone are more then enough to convince anyone who hates governments why we need bitcoin and a decentralized world. Highly recommend to someone just starting in crypto.
The words of Satoshi alone are more then enough to convince anyone who hates governments why we need bitcoin and a decentralized world. Highly recommend to someone just starting in crypto.
February 25, 2017
I would recommend to get to learn about bitcoin first and then come to read this, this way you will be to savor this book more...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews