
Can you smell it? The wafting notes of toasted cinnamon and ground cloves layered with the crisp scent of freshly clapped pine needles.
Can you hear it? A thick blanket of powdery snow hushes the joyous voices of young carolers and the jingle of sleigh bells.
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Christmas is in the air, but instead of settling in to watch Home Alone for the 15th time or tearing your hair out wondering what to give your Great Auntโs cousin this year, why not explore a different kind of festive season?
Table of Contents
Introducing the 12 Days of Cryptomas
While Santaโs elves work overtime and Rudolph and the gang renew their North Pole gym membership, DailyCoin invites you on a whimsical unwrapping of the cryptocurrency universe inspired by everyoneโs favorite carol.
Welcome to the “12 Days of Cryptomas.”
But donโt worry, we wonโt inundate you with gifts no one wants, like goose eggs and pipers. Instead, our take on the Christmas classic promises a fun, festive series dedicated to celebrating the wonders and quirks of the crypto space, with each new day bringing a thoughtful take based on whatever our True Love gave to us on said day.
Over the next twelve days, our Crypto advent calendar will unwrap the blockchain world daily. From the enigmatic figures and groundbreaking innovations to the rollercoaster market trends that keep us on our toes, youโll be ready to answer all those crypto-questions from confused family members come Christmas Day.
Without further ado, letโs kick things off. Our True Love was particularly generous on the First Day of Christmas, giving us a glorious partridge in a pear tree.
Of course, religious symbolism runs wild, and Christmas carols should never be taken at face value.
Known as a noble bird willing to die to protect its young, the songโs partridge represents none other than the messiah himself. Putting blasphemy aside for a day, letโs take a moment and recognize the father of the crypto industry and Crypto Jesus himself, Satoshi Nakamoto.
A Partridge in a Pear Tree: Who Is Crypto Jesus?
Satoshi Nakamoto is the creator of Bitcoin (BTC) and the spiritual forefather of the entire blockchain world. Some would call him a miracle worker, turning lines of code into the worldโs largest decentralized payment network as easily as Jesus turned water into wine.
It could even be argued that Satoshiโs timeline resembles Jesusโ life. Born from mysterious origins, the unassuming hero sought to bring up the common man and provide a path to salvation. Of course, while Jesusโ teachings help guide oneโs spirit, Satoshiโs salvation is more material, freeing his disciples from centralized power and inflation.
Both historical and digital messiahs sacrificed themselves in one way or another for the good of their cause. However, while regular Jesus returned, Crypto Jesus hides away in his cave.
Or is he?
For today, the First Day of Cryptomas, letโs unwrap the gift that gave us the crypto revolution.
Hereโs to Crypto Jesus: Satoshi Nakamoto.
The Birth of Cryptocurrency
In the devastating wake of the Global Finance Crisis, an unknown programmer set to work envisioning a new doctrine that could reinvent the financial landscape. Known only as Satoshi Nakamoto, our crypto evangelist theorized a fully decentralized peer-to-peer payments network that allowed users to enjoy full custody and complete ownership over their funds.
On Halloween 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin Whitepaper. The bible of a new financial age, the Bitcoin Whitepaper garnered enough attention in the remote corners of the internet to warrant the genesis launch of the worldโs first blockchain.
A few months later, on January 3rd, the Bitcoin blockchain mined its first block. Satoshi Nakamoto used the network to send 10BTC, the first ever blockchain transaction, to fellow programmer Hal Finney.
It was a small step but a giant leap for mankind. The cryptocurrency revolution had begun. You see, Bitcoin was more than just fun magic internet money. BTC was the currency at the heart of a new financial system that aimed to give power back to the people and democratize the flow of money.
With time, loyalist disciples flocked to Bitcoin and its revered leader, Satoshi Nakamoto. They saw that Bitcoin could disrupt the financial status quo and challenge centralized banking systems.
As Bitcoin’s value and popularity grew, so did its community. The Church of Bitcoin spread across forums, chat rooms, and conferences.
But it wasnโt all smooth sailing. The weight of Bitcoinโs success was a heavy burden, and Satoshiโs influence and power over the protocol threatened to undermine the cryptocurrencyโs foundational ethos.
Satoshiโs Sacrifice
With Satoshi as the active figurehead in the Bitcoin community, the creator was at risk of becoming the centralized force of nature that the network had always aimed to usurp. Ever the wise savant, Nakamoto decided to step away from Bitcoin and retreat into complete anonymity.
By stepping away, Satoshi ensured that Bitcoin was no longer tied to a single creator but belonged to the world. This act was a final, defining move that cemented the principles of decentralization and autonomy he championed.
Satoshiโs disappearance triggered an online manhunt to find the elusive programmer. The conspiracy theories went wild, with self-proclaimed digital detectives pointing the finger at everyone from Elon Musk to Steve Jobs.
Alternative theories speculated that Nick Szabo, inventor of smart contracts, or Satoshiโs โfriendโ and fellow programmer, Hal Finney, could be the man behind Bitcoin, but both rumors have been denied.
While regular Jesus died so that the rest of us could be forgiven for our sins, crypto Jesus vanished from the public eye so that his creation could live on. The motivations may have differed slightly, but it remains a noble gesture.
Moreover, when Satoshi evaporated into the matrix, he seemingly left an enormous portion of his wealth behind. To this day, Satoshiโs Bitcoin wallet still holds a staggering 1.1 million bitcoins. This astronomical figure equates to around 5% of the BTC supply and is currently worth around $38B USD.
But this is where Jesusโ and Satoshiโs paths begin to diverge. Jesus only died for three days. Satoshi vanished over a decade ago, leaving no trace of his whereabouts.
Will cryptoโs guiding light ever return?
The Rebirth of Nakamoto?
If Satoshi is still alive, he knows with absolute certainty that his return will shake the foundations of the crypto industry to its core. Imagine the levels of panic weโd see in the community if Satoshiโs wallet reawakened and started dumping millions of bitcoins on the market.
On the other hand, what would happen if Satoshi reappeared and burnt all his holdings? Weโd likely witness crypto euphoria, unlike anything weโd ever seen. Over a decade since Nakamoto vanished, Satoshi still wields immense power and influence in the crypto market.
As youโd expect, the vacuum of power Satoshi left behind attracts all kinds of parasites. Earlier this year, an ๐ account masquerading as Satoshi himself materialized, promising to reveal new technical improvements that hadnโt been mentioned in the original Whitepaper.
The ruse didnโt last long, however, with former nChain CEO Christen Ager-Hanssen exposing the imposter as none other than Craig Wright, an infamous programmer with a checkered history of trying to claim Satoshiโs identity as his own.
Given that so many years have passed since Satoshiโs disappearance, it is safe to assume that the crypto prophet may never return. Bitcoin has evolved in many ways over the years, and it isnโt easy to imagine what Satoshi would make of the crypto space today.
For example, would Satoshi approve of using Spot Bitcoin ETFs in traditional finance, or would he consider this a betrayal of Bitcoinโs core values? Would the creator of Bitcoin welcome novel improvements like the Lightning Network and Ordinal protocol, or would he label these as distractions from Bitcoinโs primary aim?
One thing is certain: with millions of people using cryptocurrency globally, the Church of Bitcoin is here to stay. Satoshiโs Gospel is shared worldwide, with crypto disciples of every creed championing a decentralized finance system.
Like regular Jesus, Satoshi is gone but not forgotten. His efforts set the foundation for one of the most fascinating and innovative areas of technological progress in decades while trying to create a โbetterโ financial world.
On the Flipside
- Satoshi (hopefully) never intended for the crypto space to become such a dangerous hotbed of crime and fraud. While blockchain helps millions enjoy greater control over their funds, it also opens the door to catastrophic failures like the FTX exchange and Terra Luna.
Why This Matters
The 12 Days of Cryptomas celebrates the fun and quirkiness of this eccentric industry. On the first day of Cryptomas, what better place to start than at cryptocurrencyโs genesis?
Stay tuned for future installments of the 12 Days of Cryptomas; plenty of surprises are waiting at the bottom of this Christmas stocking.
FAQs
While itโs difficult to ascertain exactly how much Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto owns, it is widely believed that the Bitcoin creator has around ~1.1M BTC.
The majority of the crypto community believes that Satoshi Nakamoto vanished to protect his privacy.ย
While theories abound regarding the true identity of Bitcoinโs creator, Satoshi Nakamoto remains completely pseudonymous.
Read Day 2 of our 12 Days of Cryptomas series right here:
Crypto’s Top 4 Pairings: Name More Iconic Duos, We’ll Wait