According to the P2P Foundation forum, Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor of bitcoin, ostensibly turned 48 today, April 5, 2023, over 14 years ago, Nakamoto introduced bitcoin to forum members, noting that the inventor “developed a new open source P2P electronic cash system called Bitcoin.”
The significance of April 5 in the history of the U.S. monetary system and its relevance to the creator of bitcoin
A little over 14 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto registered on the P2P Foundation forum to share information about Bitcoin, according toNakamoto’s P2P Foundation page. This mysterious creator gave April 5, 1975 as his birthday. In addition to revealing his birthday, Nakamoto confirmed that he is male and claimed to be from Japan; other than this sparse information, no additional information about Nakamoto is available on the P2P Foundation forum. If the registered birthday of April 5, 1975 is true, Nakamoto would be 48 years old today.
On Wednesday, cryptocurrency advocates discussed on the Reddit forum r/cryptocurrency the relevanceof Nakamoto’s alleged birthday and why the bitcoin creator might have chosen that particular date. The Redditor who initiated the discussion explained that many bitcoiners believe that April 5 was chosen because it was the day U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt confiscated gold from Americans and banned its possession.
Ratified in 1933,Executive Order 6102. signed by FDR, it prohibited “the buying up of gold coins, bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States.” The prohibition on gold ownership within the United States was not repealed until December 31, 1974. Interestingly, Nakamoto’s birth year was one year after the repeal; Redditor u/KAX1107, who published the r/cryptocurrency post, explains:
1975 was the year Nixon unilaterally dissolved the existing Bretton Woods system in 1971, year in which U.S. citizens were again allowed to own and trade gold after the U.S. dollar’s convertibility to gold was suspended and a “paper standard” was introduced. Nixon said the measure was “temporarybut he lied; 52 years later,here we are.
u/KAX1107 is neither the first nor the only one who believes in Nakamoto’s chosen date connection. Many other bitcoin supporterssincerely believethat Nakamoto’s chosen date is for this very reason. Bitcoin supporters have been celebrating Nakamoto’s supposed birthdayfor yearsand many continue to support the gold confiscation theory. Several theories have surfaced over the years that accompany Nakamoto’s pseudonym, and it is widely believed that the creator of Bitcoin left a number of secret Easter eggs in his message.
After registering on the P2P Foundation’s forum, Nakamoto used the forum for one purpose: to spread his message about the benefits of bitcoin and the latest software. Fourteen years ago, on February 11, 2009, NakamotowroteI developed a new open source P2P electronic money system called Bitcoin. It is completely decentralized, there is no central server or trusted party. Because everything is based on cryptographic proof instead of trust. Try it out or take a look at the screenshots and design paper.”
What do you think about the theory that Satoshi Nakamoto chose his supposed birthday in connection with the US gold ban? Do you think there is any significance to this coincidence or is it simply a fun coincidence? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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