Note: This post was repurposed from Tomas Greif’s thread.
Introduction
For years, Nick Szabo has been a name whispered with reverence in the crypto world. A mysterious figure some believe could be Satoshi Nakamoto himself. Until recently, Szabo had been silent, vanishing from Twitter for nearly five years. When he suddenly broke that silence, it reignited fascination with his story and his profound influence on the digital revolution we now call crypto.
Here’s why Nick Szabo is considered one of Bitcoin’s true founding legends.
1. He Invented Bit Gold (1998)
Long before Bitcoin existed, Szabo proposed Bit Gold, a system using proof-of-work puzzles, timestamping, Byzantine fault tolerance, and a chain of cryptographic challenges.
It was a direct predecessor to Bitcoin, an elegant design solving many of the same problems Satoshi would later tackle. In many ways, Bitcoin was Bit Gold perfected.
2. He Coined the Term “Smart Contracts” (1994)
Szabo envisioned computerized contracts that execute automatically, eliminating the need for trusted intermediaries.
This was nearly 30 years ago. Today, that idea underpins Ethereum, DeFi, and much of Web3. Szabo’s early writings on smart contracts made him the intellectual father of decentralized finance.
3. His Core Philosophy: “Trusted Third Parties Are Security Holes”
This principle became the spiritual foundation of Bitcoin.
Szabo argued that intermediaries not only limit innovation but also create points of failure, censorship, and hidden agendas. His belief in trustless systems continues to shape the crypto ethos today.
4. He Was an Original Cypherpunk
In the 1990s, Szabo joined early Cypherpunk gatherings alongside Timothy May and Eric Hughes. These were pioneers who believed privacy was a human right and encryption was the tool to defend it.
Szabo helped resist government attempts to impose surveillance through the NSA’s “Clipper Chip”, a defining battle in digital freedom.
5. The Satoshi Mystery
Some researchers believe Nick Szabo is Satoshi Nakamoto.
A 2014 linguistic analysis by Aston University found his writing style closely matched Bitcoin’s whitepaper. Even cryptographer Wei Dai (creator of b-money, another Bitcoin precursor) once said that only “Nick Szabo and me” had the technical depth to build Bitcoin.
Szabo denies it, but whether or not he’s Satoshi, his fingerprints are all over the project.
6. His Complicated Relationship with Ethereum
Szabo was an early supporter of Ethereum, and in his honor, an Ethereum denomination, the “szabo”, was named after him.
But over time, he became critical of the project’s direction. His take:
“Ethereum’s primary use cases are largely external to ETH’s market value.”
To Szabo, decentralization and integrity matter more than speculation.
7. His Blog “Unenumerated” Is a Crypto Treasure Trove
Szabo’s writings, particularly his essay “Shelling Out”, explore the origins of money from primitive shells to precious metals. His key insight: money must have “unforgeable costliness”, a property Bitcoin perfectly embodies.
He doesn’t post often, but when he does, it’s profound. Every essay feels like a piece of digital history.
Conclusion
Nick Szabo may never confirm whether he’s Satoshi Nakamoto and perhaps it doesn’t matter. His ideas laid the groundwork for Bitcoin, smart contracts, and the broader crypto revolution.
His quiet return after half a decade feels symbolic: as crypto faces growing institutional control, it’s time to revisit the original cypherpunk ideals that Szabo helped define: privacy, decentralization, and individual sovereignty.
Because sometimes, to understand the future of Bitcoin, you have to return to the people who dreamed it before it was real.
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