HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Guest Written by Fefe Demeny

Happy Birthday Satoshi

When I was 10 years old, I picked plum from our neighbour’s garden and sold them on the street. I did this every day and made a fortune – well, a fortune for a ten year old.  This was the first time I realized, money is not real. If I, as a ten year old was able to create a fortune out of thin air, there was no way this could not be done on a larger scale. 

During my first semester at university, I started to gain in-depth understanding of inflation, monetary policy, and how central banks quietly shape the fate of entire nations. I realized that working for something that others can print will never allow me to escape the system. So, I turned to Gold. 

Gold felt like the answer: scarce, trusted, time tested and inflation resistant – the perfect asset. I felt superior understanding that gold is the way out, and thought if I owned gold, I would be untouchable. Until I learned about 1933. 

In 1933 the U.S. government forbid citizens to own gold. They forced Americans to hand over their gold for worthless pieces of papers – the thing we call “money” today.

“All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to a Federal Reserve Bank, branch or agency, or to any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates now owned by them.” 

– Franklin D. Roosevelt, Executive Order 6102, April 5th 1933

From that day on, owning gold was illegal until 1975. The steal of the century.

So, gold wasn’t safe, fiat was a trap and I was determined to find an escape. In 2016, I found it. It’s called Bitcoin. 

The history of Bitcoin is very special for many reasons, one being the mystery behind Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. 

In February 2009 Satoshi Nakamoto published a post on P2P Foundation, a peer-to-peer research network, to share his innovation and introduce Bitcoin to a wider audience. 

Based on Satoshi’s P2P Foundation profile, he was born on April 5^th, 1975. 

If you have been paying attention so far, this should blow your mind! 

April 5^th, 1933 was the year the U.S. Government robbed its people of sound money, outlawing private gold ownership with Executive Order 6102.

On January 1st, 1975 people were allowed to buy gold again.

It might be mere coincidence, but I believe Satoshi decided to be born on April 5^th, 1975, to make a statement – binding the day freedom was stolen to the year it was restored, a quiet vow that, this time, sound money would live in our own hands forever and never be taken again.

If you believe this is just a coincidence, let me take you down the rabbit hole….

In 2008, when Satoshi published the Bitcoin White Paper, he was 33 years old. 

33 is a sacred signifier – Christ’s age at crucifixion, the highest degree in Freemasonry, and a master number in numerology, just to mention a few. But most importantly, 33 has 2 key relevance in Bitcoin’s infrastructure too: 

1. Your right to self-custody rests on 33 immutable bytes – the fixed length of every compressed Bitcoin public key.

2. Bitcoin’s 33rd halving event will reduce block rewards to zero, completing Bitcoin’s programmed deflation.

Between now and the final Bitcoin halving, the Bitcoin network stays on schedule by adjusting mining difficulty every 2,016 blocks.

The number isn’t fascinating simply because 2016 was the year I bought my first bitcoin – it is fascinating, because 2016 revised is 6102, the Executive Order under which Franklin D. Roosevelt confiscated Americans’ gold in 1933.

Satoshi created Bitcoin as a movement – a movement that was going to help millions escape a rigged system and reclaim control of their money. Satoshi delivered the most profound innovation of our era, yet chose to remain anonymous, giving the gift without seeking the glory. The Bitcoin ledger is transparent for anyone to see, but Satoshi’s identity stays hidden, steadily transforming from mystery into a legend, a legend that will be told for generations to come.