In the age of the Internet, "cypherpunks" tried to create an anonymous, autonomous, free and direct digital currency that worked without intermediaries. Many failed - but not Satoshi Nakamoto. In the middle of the subprime mortgage crisis, he was the first to publish the code for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin works and is starting to be used by those who need it most: whistleblowers and criminals. Satoshi Nakamoto withdraws from the project. He leaves behind the first viable cryptocurrency in history, without any indication of who the creator of this gamechanging project could be.
While the media believe they have found the man behind the moniker Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator's cryptocurrency is becoming more and more popular. Bitcoin is managed on a decentralised basis, by an ever-growing community.
Bitcoin skyrockets in value. The media focus is on the fortunes made and lost by a handful of people, rather than the huge technological and social potential of such an innovation. Harbinger of the madness that will soon descend on Bitcoin, Craig Wright decides to prove that he is the inventor of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin's success causes numerous other cryptocurrencies to flood the market. The technology behind Satoshi's ingenious invention, the blockchain, is also a hot topic. Large companies are now taking an interest, especially Facebook.
Governments are also interested in cryptocurrencies to develop their own "digital central bank money". However, China's e-yuan embodies the opposite of the values of Bitcoin, which is open source, free and autonomous. Does Satoshi's invention have the power to face off against Big Business and Big Government?
Rémi Forte
Director