zlacker

>>wslh+(OP)
I’ve always assumed it was a state actor such as the NSA that invented it. Seems like the obvious step for such an organisation to take, even just for shits and giggles. There was an awful lot of talk about electronic gold and financial/crypto-havens in the 90s (see also Cryptonomicon) so it was brewing for a long time. Plus such an actor is one of the few who could keep quiet about it all this time - it’s part of the job. One would expect that we’d all know who Satoshi was by now, unless Satoshi was a state-sponsored collective effort.

>>gizajo+04
> Seems like the obvious step for such an organisation to take, even just for shits and giggles

I don't understand this. What does the NSA get out of it? Developing it to study cryptography? Why not, but then why release it publicly? The fact that Bitcoin didn't replace fiat currency is something we know now, but recall that it was considered a possibility at the time. In the end, it just cost a lot of people a lot of money. Say what you want about the NSA, I don't think they would create something with a huge downside and no upside for them into the public for shits and giggles.

>>karate+xa
If something crypto-related is ripe for invention then they may as well invent it even just to keep an eye on it. Plus at the last count, they’re $60billion up if they did invent it, and don’t need the money right now.