Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing nobody can deny, it’s that Bitcoin has gained a lot of traction across the globe over the past few years, making the enigma surrounding its founder even more intriguing. That’s why filmmaker Cullen Hoback decided to delve into not just this cryptocurrency’s origins but also the possible real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto in an HBO original documentary, ‘Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery.’ Many actually believe early cryptographer Nicholas “Nick” Szabo to be this mastermind in question, yet he has always seemingly denied such allegations and protected his overall privacy.
Nick Szabo’s Early Interests Paved the Way for His Career
Although the details of Nick’s early years, familial experiences, as well as upbringing are not currently public knowledge, we do know he is of Hungarian descent and incredibly proud of it. It has also been reported he developed an interest in the world of science and technology at an early age, driving him to enroll in the University of Washington as soon as he was able upon graduating high school in 1985. He actually earned his Bachelor’s in Computer Science in 1989, following which he chose to pursue a unique path by attending George Washington University Law School for a Juris Doctorate.
Little did Nick know that his ability to blend programming and coding with law would make him arguably one of the most remarkable as well as sought after cryptographers and cyberpunks. That’s because he had long decided to work solely for the benefit of users by hopefully uncovering how to integrate cyberspace’s building blocks to eliminate a tracking third party, which remains his goal to this day. It thus comes as no surprise he has since been offered an honorary professorship at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín (also known by its abbreviation UFM) in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Some of Nick Szabo’s Early Work Has Been Called a Precursor of Bitcoin
As per records, Nick is the man behind the whole concept of smart property and smart contracts in e-commerce following the internet’s boom, making him one of the first faces of the digital movement. That’s especially because while he wrote an introduction to this unknown notion in 1994, he was able to publish a detailed exploration of what all it could do within a short two years in 1996. In other words, he established this program that automatically executes an agreement between two parties when certain conditions are met, all the while being completely cryptographically secure.
Moreover, and in some key ways, more importantly, Nick also came up with the idea of as well as designed a version of a decentralized digital currency called Bit Gold by the time 1998 rolled around. However, it was never implemented despite being entirely digital, not requiring intermediaries, and solving the double-spend problem via proof-of-work because it was susceptible to online attacks. After all, according to his own accounts, it relied on a fixed minimum number of IP addresses rather than a fixed minimum number of computing power to reach a consensus for any sort of change.
Nevertheless, considering how Bit Gold’s initial aim was to be a digital form of currency with a private key needed for access, it is widely asserted as one of the major precursors to Bitcoin. The fact that it was conceptualized in 1998, well before Satoshi Nakamoto even published a paper on the latter in 2008 before creating its network in January 2009, evidences this precursor claim too. Therefore, many believe Nick to be Satoshi owing to their similar concepts, style of work, as well as skill sets, yet this theory has never been verified, and the FinTech pioneer himself has denied it.
Nick Szabo Prefers to Lead a Private Life Today
Since Nick’s career as an unwavering computer scientist, legal scholar, and cryptographer specializing in digital currency plus smart contracts has resulted in him receiving a lot of backlash over the years, he understandably now prefers to keep his personal experiences away from the limelight. This is actually to such an extent that he is not active on any social media platforms, and even his biography on his blog, Unenumerated, comprises nothing but reviews from some of his readers. In fact, it’s imperative to note that the last time this cyberpunk legend was online for certain was back in March 2018, six years ago, because that’s when he last published on his blog.
Therefore, all we know about Nick as of writing is that he seemingly currently resides in Seattle, Washington, where he has built a happy, stable life for himself alongside his loving wife, Michelle Szabo, and their dog, Luna. Furthermore, while he prefers to remain private so as to avoid needless outside opinions on who he is and his work, he occasionally does step out to give lectures across the globe on the actuality and benefits of cryptocurrency.
Read More: Len Sassaman: How Did the Cryptographer Die?
