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Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

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Re: Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

#42
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is extremely likely. The SilkRoad admins all have access to the old (and the new) DPR forum account. One of them was using it even after Ross was arrested, leading someone to ask why DPR was showing up on the active members list of the SR forum even after be was arrested.

Could that not have been the feds?

Libertas said it was SR admins. If it's a lie, I can't think of a good reason for it.

Re: Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

#43
post #7

This currently isn't "news," as the paper hasn't been published yet, and none of the disclosed findings are too damning or conclusive. That being said, it's important for two reasons: 1.) the paper gets published tomorrow, which will lead to a round of negative press, regardless of the claims' merit. 2.) More significant: it highlights what I see as an existential threat to the Bitcoin experiment: a.) the poor distri…

There's no way in hell Satoshi is anywhere connected to "DPR". Look at the OPSEC between the two. Satoshi carefully concealed his identity even in the early crypto mailing list days of Bitcoin. Ross Ulbricht failed at this completely throughout his underground career. Satoshi was a pretty good developer, Ulbricht posted to Stackexchange the most basic of php questions.

Satoshi seemed to be very aware of the power of gov agencies both in UK and US and the risks he was taking creating Bitcoin, a good example was his response to people back in 2010 who were calling for Wikileaks to accept Bitcoin donations. Ulbricht on the other hand foolishly underestimated them and would've cheered Wikileaks adoption. I don't recall Satoshi ever granting interviews and was hesitant to even reply to PMs on bitcointalk. He also didn't discuss politics, though you could infer from his hatred of central banking what his politics were he never spelled them out like Ulbricht did on a regular basis.

Not the same people

Re: Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

#44
post #16
post #11

I doubt that the link here amounts to DPR knowing SN personally, or even worse, DPR being SN. Obviously I don't know DPR or SN, but I really doubt that DPR is SN or even communicated with him. The reasons are entirely circumstantial but from what I've read of both of them: - DPR is arrogant. - DPR makes stupid mistakes. - SN is fairly humble. - SN is smarter than DPR. - SN doesn't make mistakes. Is it possible that D…

> Is it possible that DPR himself was an early adopter of BitCoins It is also possible that DPR is more than one person.

The name certainly implies so.

Re: Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

#46
post #7

This currently isn't "news," as the paper hasn't been published yet, and none of the disclosed findings are too damning or conclusive. That being said, it's important for two reasons: 1.) the paper gets published tomorrow, which will lead to a round of negative press, regardless of the claims' merit. 2.) More significant: it highlights what I see as an existential threat to the Bitcoin experiment: a.) the poor distri…

Anarchists are not necessarily "bad actors". What is it you are afraid they will do with their btc wealth?

I think he probably was alluding to destabilization of major markets, which can lead to market crashes, inflation, deflation, etc... Fairly bad things in the short term.

Re: Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

#47
post #7

This currently isn't "news," as the paper hasn't been published yet, and none of the disclosed findings are too damning or conclusive. That being said, it's important for two reasons: 1.) the paper gets published tomorrow, which will lead to a round of negative press, regardless of the claims' merit. 2.) More significant: it highlights what I see as an existential threat to the Bitcoin experiment: a.) the poor distri…

The Coase theorem says that the initial allocation doesn't matter if transaction costs are low enough. Transaction costs are exceptionally low in the case of bitcoin.

Re: Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

#48
post #14
post #7

This currently isn't "news," as the paper hasn't been published yet, and none of the disclosed findings are too damning or conclusive. That being said, it's important for two reasons: 1.) the paper gets published tomorrow, which will lead to a round of negative press, regardless of the claims' merit. 2.) More significant: it highlights what I see as an existential threat to the Bitcoin experiment: a.) the poor distri…

> a.) the lack of even distribution of early wealth Like an IPO? [1] > b.) the possibility that a great percentage of Bitcoin are currently held by bad actors (criminals, anarchists, use your imagination). I know you are probably using the term anarchist in the colloquial sense (meaning those black bloc anarchists who smash things and want revolution) conjuring images of a Mad Max like dystopia, but would you conside…

An IPO is a good point, can you name a currency that had a similar IPO?

Re: Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

#49
post #17
post #7

This currently isn't "news," as the paper hasn't been published yet, and none of the disclosed findings are too damning or conclusive. That being said, it's important for two reasons: 1.) the paper gets published tomorrow, which will lead to a round of negative press, regardless of the claims' merit. 2.) More significant: it highlights what I see as an existential threat to the Bitcoin experiment: a.) the poor distri…

the lack of even distribution of early wealth Totally! All we need is an "affordable bitcoin act" and the problem is solved. Without being snarky: I just dislike when people tie political ideology into their evaluation of new technology.

I do not know about ideology but there is definately a political angle to all of this. Bitcoin is only worth anything as long as people are willing to give things or services of value in exchange of bitcoins. For now people have because bitcoin has generated a lot of excitement and there have been relatively few bitcoins available for purchase.

But if one of the early adopters busts out a billion dollars worth of bitcoins and demands massive amounts of real world wealth in exchange, people may just decide he does not deserve it and stop buying bitcoins. Then the bitcoin will be worth nothing again.

Re: Study Suggests Link Between Dread Pirate Roberts and Satoshi Nakamoto

#50
post #48
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a.) the lack of even distribution of early wealth Like an IPO? [1] > b.) the possibility that a great percentage of Bitcoin are currently held by bad actors (criminals, anarchists, use your imagination). I know you are probably using the term anarchist in the colloquial sense (meaning those black bloc anarchists who smash things and want revolution) conjuring images of a Mad Max like dystopia, but would you conside…

An IPO is a good point, can you name a currency that had a similar IPO?

In English a simile is a comparison using the words 'like' or 'as'. So using that as a basis it should be fairly obvious that I was definitely not saying this is an IPO but rather comparing getting in early with BitCoin to getting in early with anything with a market value that could appreciate or depreciate (like stocks traded on a stock market, or newly discovered commodities etc.). There is risk and there is reward.

If you are looking for examples of other currencies you could have made money with due to appreciation (if you got in early), then simply look at the developing countries with appreciating currencies, countries who peg their values to a currency basket that includes a rising commodity (like oil). Money is made (and lost) on speculating on forex markets everyday. The Kuwait Dinar springs to mind.

Personally I think its better to compare BitCoin to a commodity that has scarcity and solves the coincidence of wants problem and so it can be used to exchange value for goods or services, like gold, silver, perhaps oil (to a lesser extent).

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