Who Is Nick Szabo? 8 Things to Know About the Man Elon Musk Thinks Created Bitcoin.

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The name Satoshi Nakamoto has been clouded in secrecy since the Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) white paper was released in 2008. Throughout the years, speculators have worked to identity the true creator. However, no one has reached a solid conclusion, and it seems the Bitcoin creator wants to stay anonymous. Now, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is giving his take on the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin tokens on a motherboard representing BTC.

Source: Momentum Fotograh / Shutterstock.com

During a podcast, Musk was asked for his guess on who Nakamoto really is. Musk replied that he believes it is Nick Szabo, a crypto expert who founded BitGold and coined the term “smart contracts.” Additionally, Musk added that: “It seems as though Nick Szabo is probably, more than anyone else, responsible for the evolution of those ideas.”

So, is Szabo really the true founder of Bitcoin? Let’s take a deeper look into the life of the veteran crypto expert.

Who Is Nick Szabo? 8 Things to Know

  1. Nick Szabo graduated from the University of Washington in 1989 with a degree in computer science. He later received a law degree from George Washington University Law School.
  2. Szabo created BitGold in 1998. The project was never fully completed, but many see it as a precursor to Bitcoin. Szabo detailed that the inspiration for BitGold was to solve inefficiencies he saw in the traditional financial system.
  3. In 2014, The Aston University Centre for Forensic Linguistics conducted a linguistic study on Bitcoin’s white paper to determine the identity of Nakamoto. The group concluded that Nick Szabo was Nakamoto based on linguistic similarities.
  4. Furthermore, one of the similarities was that the white paper was drafted using Latex, an open-source document platform. Szabo uses Latex for his public publications as well. A large number of phrases on the Bitcoin white paper are present in Szabo’s writings as well.
  5. Szabo has refuted claims that he was the Bitcoin creator, though. He said in 2014, “I’m afraid you got it wrong doxing me as Satoshi, but I’m used to it.”
  6. Musk added that: “Obviously I don’t know who created bitcoin … it seems as though Nick Szabo is probably more than anyone else responsible for the evolution of those ideas. He claims not to be Nakamoto … but he seems to be the one more responsible for the ideas behind it than anyone else.”
  7. The reason for the creator of Bitcoin to stay anonymous may tie into the value of decentralization. For example, Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) co-creator Vitalik Buterin has tried to limit his influence over the cryptocurrency.
  8. Szabo has a Twitter presence with over 300,000 followers.

On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

The post Who Is Nick Szabo? 8 Things to Know About the Man Elon Musk Thinks Created Bitcoin. appeared first on InvestorPlace.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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