SAT.OS.HI.BYE

Satoshi had ceased all public activity by 2011, but he was still lurking in the background as he kept tabs on the community he’d created and ensured Bitcoin’s development was being taken care of. While a handful of developers including Gavin Andresen knew that Satoshi was gone for good, there had been no official announcement of his departure, with Satoshi likely conscious of the morale-sapping effect this would have. Far better to tiptoe away from the spotlight rather than go out with a bang.

While Satoshi knew by late 2010 his days of forum posting were at an end, he also knew there were still a few loose ends to tie up. Without its lead developer around to coordinate development, there was a risk, even with Gavin Andresen anointed as Satoshi’s replacement, of a power vacuum developing. Satoshi wasn’t concerned with who did what specifically – he just wanted to see that it got done. This meant ensuring that key figures within the Bitcoin community were aware of their duties and of what to do should anything go wrong.

Aside from tidying up Bitcoin’s codebase in December 2010, Satoshi had some final admin tasks to take care of. For example, in January 2011 he coordinated with Gavin Andresen and Martti Malmi over site administration and backups of the Bitcoin.org website and forum data.

While never loquacious, Satoshi’s final communications were to become ever more terse as he kept conversation to a minimum. On January 6th, 2011, for example, Gavin Andresen offered to handle an interview request since he knew Satoshi had no interest in talking to the press. Satoshi’s one-word response confirmed this: “True.”

In the first few months of 2011, two Bitcoin updates were shipped – v0.3.20 and v0.3.21 – with both being led by Gavin. Satoshi had taken the stabilisers off the bike, and while in late February 2011 he was still there to catch it if it toppled, he wanted to see Gavin and Martti go it alone. Rather than contributing to Bitcoin code enhancements, Satoshi was mainly concerned with clearing his own task list, which included handing over admin passwords for the mailing list and Bitcoin alert system.

By spring 2011, Satoshi was essentially an absent project founder who only occasionally checked in via email with the team.

Satoshi’s Last Serenade

Gavin and Martti were clearly aware that Satoshi was leaving for good, even if they were unsure precisely when he planned to walk away. It’s less clear to what extent this information was shared with other Bitcoin developers and administrators, who generally had less day-to-day contact with Satoshi.

Thus, when developer Mike Hearn emailed Satoshi in April 2011 with technical questions concerning a proposed anti-spam mechanism, he was likely unaware that Satoshi’s mind was on other things. Hearn discovered Bitcoin in a circuitous manner via the mailing list devoted to an early proposal for Ripple (which eventually became XRP), which he’d been a member of since 2007. He had initially stumbled upon the Ripple mailing list courtesy of a group called the International Journal of Community Currency Research.

What impressed me about Bitcoin,” recounts Hearn, “was that it wasn't just a proposal, like most currency related ideas were, Satoshi had actually built it.” He adds: “I think he was probably once a professional developer, but had stopped being so some time in the 1990s. He was evidently skilled but used an old fashioned way to write code.”

Satoshi took the time to reply to Hearn’s first contact with a detailed explanation as to why a new opcode for time-locking wouldn’t be safe and suggested an alternative solution. While there was nothing explicit in this email to suggest he was no longer concerned with Bitcoin, Mike Hearn sensed Satoshi’s involvement was waning.

“I didn't understand why he was stepping back,” notes Hearn, “although he had expressed public unhappiness with the way people were promoting Bitcoin for things like helping Wikileaks (ironically, the reason I decided to start development on it). Not due to disliking the cause but just due to a general fear of attention at such an early stage. I suspected he might leave permanently which is why I was asking so many questions towards the end.”

Did Bitcoin’s creator intend to participate in future code reviews, Mike wondered, or was he “permanently stepping back from the limelight”? Satoshi’s reply of April 23rd left no ambiguity: “I’ve moved on to other things. It’s in good hands with Gavin and everyone.”

There was just one more email Satoshi would send before his pseudonym was never heard from again. On April 26th, he conversed with Gavin – and this exchange reveals more about Satoshi’s state of mind as he exited.

In the days prior, Gavin had informed Satoshi of an invitation he’d received to speak at an upcoming CIA conference about Bitcoin. Gavin was nervous that accepting might alarm Satoshi, which is why he emailed him before making the news public. On April 26th, Satoshi replied tersely. One can detect a hint of annoyance in what were to be his last known words to anyone: “I wish you wouldn’t keep talking about me as a mysterious shadowy figure, the press just turns that into a pirate currency angle. Maybe instead make it about the open source project and give more credit to your dev contributors; it helps motivate them.”

One way of interpreting this is that right up to the end, Satoshi’s primary concern was ensuring Bitcoin survived – which meant playing down its use for illegality, and ensuring it had no clearly defined leader the U.S. government could target. His suggestion to discuss the involvement of other developers was likely so that Gavin wouldn’t unwittingly convince the CIA that as the heir apparent, Bitcoin’s future lay in his hands.

The hint of frustration in Satoshi’s last words may also have been due to pangs of guilt. He’d stepped back partially to prevent growing interest in Bitcoin putting a target on his back. Now, there was a risk that he was setting Gavin up as his stooge to take the fall. But it was too late now: he’d said his private goodbyes. It was time to go.