Simon Dixon and I talk about theories surrounding the hijacking of Bitcoin, the connection with Jeffrey Epstein, and some history about Bitcoin's funding and development.
Based on historical records from Bitcoin forums, developer emails, and related discussions, here's the chronological order of events:
1. Bitcoin discussed for donations to Wikileaks: This refers to early community discussions on the Bitcoin forum (bitcointalk.org) about whether Wikileaks should accept Bitcoin donations, prompted by Wikileaks' financial blockade by traditional payment processors. On December 5, 2010, Satoshi Nakamoto posted a warning against it, stating: "I make this appeal to WikiLeaks not to try to use Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a small beta community in its infancy. You would not stand to get more than pocket change, and the heat you would bring would likely destroy us at this stage." (Note: While discussions started in late 2010, Wikileaks didn't actually begin accepting Bitcoin until June 14, 2011. )
2. Satoshi announces leaving the project: Satoshi's involvement tapered off after December 2010 (his last public forum post was on December 12, 2010 ), but the definitive "leaving" statement came in private emails to developers. On April 26, 2011, Satoshi emailed Mike Hearn: "I've moved on to other things." (Some sources cite a similar email on April 23, 2011, but the April 26 date is commonly referenced as the final communication.)
3. Gavin Andresen mentions meeting with the CIA: On April 27, 2011 (one day after Satoshi's final email), Andresen posted on the Bitcoin forum: "I'm going to give a presentation about Bitcoin at CIA headquarters in June at an emerging technologies conference for the US intelligence community. I accepted the invitation to speak because the fact that I was invited means Bitcoin is already on their radar..." (The actual presentation occurred on June 14, 2011. This announcement came one day after Satoshi Nakamoto's final known email (April 26, 2011), and Andresen later mentioned in interviews that he had privately informed Satoshi about the planned talk via email beforehand, which may have influenced Satoshi's decision to fully step away.
Based on historical records from Bitcoin forums, developer emails, and related discussions, here's the chronological order of events:
1. Bitcoin discussed for donations to Wikileaks: This refers to early community discussions on the Bitcoin forum (bitcointalk.org) about whether Wikileaks should accept Bitcoin donations, prompted by Wikileaks' financial blockade by traditional payment processors. On December 5, 2010, Satoshi Nakamoto posted a warning against it, stating: "I make this appeal to WikiLeaks not to try to use Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a small beta community in its infancy. You would not stand to get more than pocket change, and the heat you would bring would likely destroy us at this stage." (Note: While discussions started in late 2010, Wikileaks didn't actually begin accepting Bitcoin until June 14, 2011. )
2. Satoshi announces leaving the project: Satoshi's involvement tapered off after December 2010 (his last public forum post was on December 12, 2010 ), but the definitive "leaving" statement came in private emails to developers. On April 26, 2011, Satoshi emailed Mike Hearn: "I've moved on to other things." (Some sources cite a similar email on April 23, 2011, but the April 26 date is commonly referenced as the final communication.)
3. Gavin Andresen mentions meeting with the CIA: On April 27, 2011 (one day after Satoshi's final email), Andresen posted on the Bitcoin forum: "I'm going to give a presentation about Bitcoin at CIA headquarters in June at an emerging technologies conference for the US intelligence community. I accepted the invitation to speak because the fact that I was invited means Bitcoin is already on their radar..." (The actual presentation occurred on June 14, 2011. This announcement came one day after Satoshi Nakamoto's final known email (April 26, 2011), and Andresen later mentioned in interviews that he had privately informed Satoshi about the planned talk via email beforehand, which may have influenced Satoshi's decision to fully step away.
Sources:
https://www.wired.com/2011/11/mf-bitcoin/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2019/04/26/how-bitcoin-and-wikileaks-saved-each-other/
https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/12uju62/on_april_26_2011_almost_exactly_12_years_ago/