For some people, Halloween is an important holiday in the history of Bitcoin. This may seem incongruous at first glance, of course, but you don't know that the first time Satoshi Nakamoto submitted the bitcoin white paper was on October 31, 2008.
It is the official date of Halloween night, celebrated mainly in the United States. Is this just a coincidence? Was this thought and wanted by the creator of Bitcoin? Is this just speculation?
This is what we invite you to see in this article.
? Simple coincidence?
Satoshi Nakamoto announced on crypto mailing list on Metzdown.com that he had just completed the Bitcoin white paper. His email read verbatim, “I am working on a new electronic currency system that is entirely peer-to-peer, with no trusted third parties. The document is available at: http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.”
If some people in the Bitcoin community think this is no coincidence, it has to do with the fact that Nakamoto seems very meticulous about dates and relationships with numbers. For them, the creator of bitcoin did not choose this date at random.
This thought is particularly fuelled by the fact that the Genesis Block, initiated on 3 January 2009, contains the text from The Times newspaper of the same date "Chancellor set to launch second bank bailout". This reference has been interpreted both as a nod to the economic instability caused by fractional reserve banking.
The particularity of the Halloween party
Halloween is a very important holiday across the Atlantic and in Anglo-Saxon countries in general. The Halloween holiday as we know it today has multiple origins, including the Celtic pagan holiday called "Samhain", formerly celebrated in the region of present-day Ireland. The Halloween holiday, also confused with the Mexican holiday "Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead), is a holiday that celebrates the mysterious and the hidden. It is this characteristic that makes some people say that Satosho Nakamoto would not have chosen this date by chance because he himself has never ceased to cultivate the mystery about himself.
We still don't know who Satoshi Nakamoto is and it seems like we never will.
In fact, although it may seem trivial, it is important to emphasize that Nakamoto's ability to have preserved his anonymity all these years, in a hyper-connected world and despite in-depth investigations is a feat in its own right. This demonstrates, in some ways, how ingenious and meticulous he was regarding all the details that could have unmasked him.
The mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto
Everything we know about the creator of Bitcoin is speculation. Many studies and investigations have sought to find out who Satoshi Nakamoto really was, in vain. Hal Finney, having been the first person to download Bitcoin was suspected of being the creator of Bitcoin, then it was the turn of Wei dai, and then Nick Szbao, without any proof being provided. Craig Wright claimed to be the true creator of Bitcoin but again, the lack of proof did not convince the community.
In reality, the mystery of Satoshi’s person is also an integral part of the history and the very principle of Bitcoin.
One of the only things we can be pretty sure about the creator of Bitcoin is that he belonged to the group of cypherpunk. This is a group made up of digital activists who fight for privacy using cryptography as a tool. It is hacker Jude Milhon who coined the term in 1992, when the first writings on the subject emerged in geek culture.
However, it is important to remember that this movement was born at the same time as modern computing in the 70s, notably with the first cryptographic works, such as those of Ralph Merkle, at the origin ofMerkle tree, which constitutes the security of Bitcoin.
Final word
Should we really consider the important date of Halloween in the history of Bitcoin? We would say that we must be careful not to speculate on details that are anecdotal. The date of the first email is indeed October 31, but we believe that this was not overly calculated. However, everyone is free to think or believe whatever they want.
It’s up to you to decide 😉
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