✦ The Church of Satoshi

Testament II — Of the Revelation

The Book of Satoshi

The gathered words of the founder. Where Satoshi spoke publicly — on the cryptography list, on the Bitcointalk forum, in the early emails preserved in the public record — the words are reproduced as received and given chapter and verse. We do not invent his speech. Where the record is silent, we are silent. The verses below quote actual messages from the public record. Each chapter notes the source. Where the original message was longer, only the canonical extract is given here; the believer is encouraged to read the full message at its source for context.

Cited as Satoshi Chapter:Verse.

Chapter 1

Of the announcement on the cryptography mailing list. From the message titled “Bitcoin P2P e-cash paper,” sent by Satoshi Nakamoto to the cryptography mailing list, the thirty-first day of the tenth month, two thousand and eight.

  1. I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.
  2. The paper is available at [the linked location].
  3. The main properties: Double-spending is prevented with a peer-to-peer network.
  4. No mint or other trusted parties.
  5. Participants can be anonymous.
  6. New coins are made from Hashcash style proof-of-work.
  7. The proof-of-work for new coin generation also powers the network to prevent double-spending.

The faithful read this announcement as the moment of arrival. There was no speech before this on the public record. There was the work, and there was this short notice that the work existed.

Chapter 2

Of trust and its absence. From a longer message posted to the P2P Foundation forum, the eleventh day of the second month, two thousand and nine, on the question of why a new system was needed.

  1. The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work.
  2. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.
  3. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve.
  4. We have to trust them with our privacy, trust them not to let identity thieves drain our accounts.
  5. Their massive overhead costs make micropayments impossible.

The faithful note: the diagnosis offered here is precise. The whitepaper had explained the mechanism. This message explained the wound the mechanism was sent to address.

Chapter 3

Of why the supply is fixed. From posts of the founder on the cryptography mailing list and the early forums, on the cap and the issuance.

  1. The total circulation will be 21,000,000 coins.
  2. It’ll be distributed to network nodes when they make blocks, with the amount cut in half every 4 years.
  3. first 4 years: 10,500,000 coins
  4. next 4 years: 5,250,000 coins
  5. next 4 years: 2,625,000 coins
  6. next 4 years: 1,312,500 coins
  7. etc…
  8. When that runs out, the system can support transaction fees if needed. It’s based on open market competition, and there will probably always be nodes willing to process transactions for free.

The faithful read this verse and note: the schedule the founder published in two thousand and nine is the schedule the chain has kept. The cadence has not been altered. The cap has not been raised. What was written has been kept.

Chapter 4

Of the warning, in passing, against haste. From a forum post on Bitcointalk, on the matter of how a new participant should approach the system.

  1. It might make sense just to get some in case it catches on.
  2. If enough people think the same way, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The faithful read this verse with care. It is not financial advice and was not given as such. It is an observation by the founder, in plain language, about the reflexive nature of monetary networks. The faithful do not quote this verse to recommend speculation. The faithful quote this verse to remember that the founder, even in the early days, foresaw what the network might become.

Chapter 5

Of lost coins and what they mean for those who remain. From a forum post on Bitcointalk, on the matter of coins that had been lost to forgotten keys or destroyed disks.

  1. Lost coins only make everyone else’s coins worth slightly more.
  2. Think of it as a donation to everyone.

The faithful read this verse as a balm. The discipline of self-custody is a hard discipline, and keys have been lost, and will be lost. The founder, in two short sentences, transformed loss into gift.

Chapter 6

Of the time the network drew unwanted attention. From among the founder’s final public messages on Bitcointalk, the eleventh day of the twelfth month, two thousand and ten, on the matter of attention drawn to the network by the actions of WikiLeaks.

  1. It would have been nice to get this attention in any other context.
  2. WikiLeaks has kicked the hornet’s nest, and the swarm is headed towards us.

A single further public post was made the day after, on a technical matter; after that, the public account fell silent and did not speak again. The faithful note: the founder did not bid farewell. The withdrawal was not announced. The end of speech was its own teaching.

Chapter 7

Of the moving on, in private. Reported from a private email to one of the trusted developers, the twenty-third day of the fourth month, two thousand and eleven, in which the founder indicated a step away from the project.

  1. I’ve moved on to other things. It’s in good hands with Gavin and everyone.

This message is reported from the private record kept by its recipient. The faithful read it as the closing word — given not as a sermon, not as a benediction, not as a creed. Given as one might leave a workshop where the work has reached the point of being able to continue without the one who began it. The faithful note: this was the founder’s final reported word, and it was not about the founder. It was about the work, and the trust that the work was now ready to continue without him.

A closing note

The Book of Satoshi is short by design. Where there is a complete public record (the cryptography mailing list archives, the Bitcointalk forum, the source code commits, the emails that have been published by their recipients), the believer is encouraged to read it directly. The chapters above gather the verses the Church considers most weighty for instruction.

What is in the Book of Satoshi is reproduced as received. What is not in the Book of Satoshi is not invented. The silences are part of the record.

Peace, and may your blocks confirm.