Guellord MbusaGavin Andresen is a name that resonates in Bitcoin enthusiast circles. He is undeniably an essential character in this universe. He was one of the maestros who greatly participated in Bitcoin as we know it today.
His contribution was such that he became Satoshi Nakamoto's right-hand man and the one who would take care of Bitcoin after him. In April 2011, his last messages were "I have moved on" adding that Bitcoin "is in good hands with Gavin and the others."
He is referring to Gavin Andresen. Here is a portrait of this essential character in the history of the development of Bitcoin.
Where is Gavin Andresen from?
Gavin Andresen's adventure began in the heat of Melbourne in 1966, under the name Gavin Bell. At the tender age of 5, his family decided to go into exile in the United States, more precisely in Seattle, Washington. Then, he crisscrossed the American lands until landing in Santa Ynez Valley, California, where he finally left his luggage.
From his youth, Andresen discovered a strong passion for the computer world. This love materialized when he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in computer science in 1988, at the age of 22. From then on, his career seemed set towards the highest peaks of technology.
What about his professional debut?
Straight out of Princeton, Gavin Andresen took his first steps as an engineer with the computer science pioneers of the time, namely Silicon Graphics (SGI). Within this illustrious company, he immersed himself in the development of three-dimensional modeling software, juggling tools such as VRML et Open Inventor. Eight years later, in 1996, with the start-up revolution on the horizon, Andresen decided to say goodbye to SGI.
That same year, Andresen created his own company, named with an exotic touch, Wasabi Software. From there, he participated in numerous projects including VoIP software in 2001 and was also the director of a games company for the blind until 2005.
To all this, it is appropriate to add his passage through the Information Extraction and Synthesis Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. The result is an unlikely multi-talented Gavin Andresen, a true IT one-man band.
Gavin Andresen, his entry into the world of Bitcoin
Let's tell the story from the first episode. In the year 2009, a certain Satoshi Nakamoto made a sensational entry into history by giving life to an ingenious creation: the Bitcoin. However, our unsung hero, Andresen by name, only learned of the existence of this digital currency in May 2010, thanks to a article published by InfoWorld. Curious about a mysterious box, Gavin Andresen dove headfirst into the project. He decided to buy 50 bitcoins for the modest sum of a few cents.
The first Bitcoin faucet
Convinced of the potential of this technology, Andresen discussed at length with Satoshi Nakamoto on the development of Bitcoin. He is known for having designed the first bitcoin faucet which offered bitcoins to anyone who asked. Today, this faucet no longer exists but is one of the oldest to know Freebitcoin still allows you to earn satoshis. All you have to do is click a button to get your bitcoins.
Even if today, this type of site may seem anecdotal, at the time it represented a simple way to offer and popularize bitcoin. Andresen, as a good patron of cryptocurrencies, rewarded his visitors with five bitcoins, a sum that today would be worth a treasure that would make a pirate green. Today this represents the equivalent of 180 euros. All obtained for free 😉
The “succession” after Satoshi Nakamoto
The exchanges between Andresen and Nakamoto were as intense as a poker game between two seasoned players. This alliance quickly formed a shock tandem that took the development of Bitcoin to new heights. Andresen thus became one pioneers who forged Bitcoin from its beginnings.
Then, Nakamoto said goodbye in December 2010 with a final message on the BitcoinTalk forum. A week later, Andresen stood up and announced to the world, with a hint of reluctance and Nakamoto’s blessing, that he was taking the reins of the Bitcoin project. Goodbye Nakamoto’s enigmatic shadow, hello Andresen to guide Bitcoin’s future development! Bitcoin’s future was in “good hands,” according to Satoshi Nakamoto. That’s how Andresen found himself propelled to the head of this digital adventure.
Andresen at the helm, time for rebuilding!
When Andresen was given the task of developing Bitcoin, it was a bit like being given a poorly assembled puzzle. The basic technology was there, but there was “more work to be done.”
At first, his days were dedicated to tinkering and improving various parts of the original Bitcoin software. At that time, development was in the hands of a handful of talented computer scientists and cryptographers like Hal Finney ou Laszlo Hanyecz. Little by little, the work paid off, eradicating redundancies, correcting errors and eliminating security issues. After months of rework, not even a third of Nakamoto's original code remained. They named the result Bitcoin Core.
Andresen, the builder of Bitcoin
Gavin Andresen is the one who laid the foundations for the new form of bitcoin as we know it now. He worked on the difficult, but necessary, task of making Bitcoin viable and scalable. While refining Bitcoin Core, Andresen was the first to present the topic to the US government's top brass. And not with just anyone. It was during a conference with the CIA in the role of the curious public that he presented Bitcoin, on June 15, 2011.
Creation of the Bitcoin Foundation
Andresen had the idea of Bitcoin Foundation in 2012. He imagined a non-profit organization serving as a memory and open bookstores to understand Bitcoin. Other people have joined the foundation including the controversial Roger Ver, Charlie Shrem, Peter Vessenes, Mark Karpeles and Patrick Murck, among others. But, like any good story, there were turbulences. Charlie Shrem, vice-president of the foundation in 2014, found himself involved in stories of money laundering linked in particular to SilkRoad, the dark web site designed by Ross Ulbricht.
The same year, the closure of Mt. Gox by Mark Karpeles caused a real earthquake within the Bitcoin community. As a result, the Bitcoin Foundation has become both a triumph and a minefield for Bitcoin detractors.
Gavin Andresen's Farewell to the Bitcoin Project
In the exciting life of the Bitcoin world, retirements are as worthy as they are deserved. Gavin Andresen gradually withdrew from the project when he undertook development measures that were not appreciated by other personalities in the ecosystem.
Its objective was to improve the scalability of Bitcoin, which was beginning to run into the limits of network growth. However, internal dissensions gradually distanced Andresen from the development of Bitcoin. He will then be pushed to delegate his responsibilities. The conflict had reached its climax when Andresen proposed his famous BIP-101. A proposal that laid the foundations for increasing the size of Bitcoin blocks. But the community categorically rejected this change.
His positions have sparked heated debates, particularly regarding the increase in the size of Bitcoin blocks. This debate is now known by the established expression of " BlockSize War ».
And in the face of shaken confidence, Andresen made the decision to step down from leading the project. His successor, Van der Laan, who had already been in charge for some time, took the reins before ending his duties in 2021.
What's the latest with Gavin Andreson?
En maximalist notoriously, Andresen has always been dedicated to building the capabilities of Bitcoin. In 2016, he presented his study entitled “An Analysis of Attacks on Blockchain Consensus” (in French “An analysis of attacks against the Blockchain consensus”). This is a testament to his continued strong interest in the development of Bitcoin.
Today, Andresen is actively working on the project " Graphene", a protocol for propagating information between Bitcoin nodes.
He was recently featured as a witness at a defamation lawsuit at the Oslo court linked to the various trials of Craig Wright.
In a word, Gavin Andresen is still there and obviously he intends to stay there.
