‘I’ve moved on to other things’ — Satoshi Nakamoto’s final email revisited after 13 years

In the last known communication in 2011, Satoshi Nakamoto disclosed they had moved on to other things, handing over Bitcoin to the community.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin 

BTC $66,754, decided to move on to other things 13 years ago, when they sent the last communication to Bitcoin’s first developers on April 23, 2011.

Bitcoin core developer Mike Hearn previously revealed the final instructions as part of an email exchange with Nakamoto about the challenges and technical aspects of implementing Bitcoin functionalities to control spam using BTC as collateral:

“I do hope your BitcoinJ continues to be developed into an alternative client. It gives Java devs something to work on, and it’s easier with a simpler foundation that doesn’t have to do everything.”

Satoshi’s final message also adds a sense of passage:

“I had a few other things on my mind (as always). […] I’ve moved on to other things. It’s in good hands with Gavin and everyone.”

Nakamoto’s identity remains one of the tech world’s biggest mysteries since no conclusive evidence has been found, which makes communication with Bitcoin’s first adopters a rich source of information about the early days of the cryptocurrency.

Various individuals have been speculated to be the original crypto inventor. One of the most controversial cases involved Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claimed to be Nakamoto in 2016. Wright faced a lawsuit by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), with United Kingdom Judge James Mellor ruling that he did not create Bitcoin last March.

Satoshi first introduced the world to Bitcoin with the publication of the Bitcoin white paper on Oct. 31, 2008, which was circulated among a mailing list of cryptographers. The paper outlined a method for using a peer-to-peer network to create a system of digital transactions without relying on trust or third-party involvement. Satoshi continued to work on Bitcoin software until 2010, when they handed over control to other developers. Since then, Bitcoin has grown to become a $1.3 trillion asset.