Headline May 20, 2015/ ''' THE WIZARD OF BITCOIN '''

''' THE WIZARD OF BITCOIN '''

''I'M NOT SATOSHI, and I'm not a college professor. In fact, I never was a college professor.''

The conversation grew less heated when I asked about the origin the many complicated pieces of code and cryptography that went into the Bitcoin software-

And about the small number of people who would have had the expertise to put them together.

But now,... now, trying to decode the enigma of Bitcoin's elusive founder  let me begin...... at the very beginning. As it is one of the very greatest of the mysteries of the digital age.

The hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto, the elusive creator of Bitcoin, has captivated even those who think the virtual currency is some sort of online Ponzi scheme. A legend has emerged from jumble of facts:

Someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto released the software for Bitcoin in early 2009 and communicated with the nascent currency's users via email  -but never by phone or in person.

Then, in 2011, just as the technology began to attract wider attention, the emails stopped. Suddenly, Satoshi was gone, but the stories grew larger by the minute.

Over the last year, writes the research author, as I worked on a book about the history of Bitcoin, it was hard to avoid being drawn in by the almost mystical riddle of Satishi Nakamot's identity. Just as I began my research, Newsweek made  a splash with a cover article

In March 2014 claiming that Satoshi was an unemployed engineer in the 60s who lived in Suburban Los Angeles. Within a day of the publication, however, most people knowledgeable about Bitcoin had concluded that the Magazine had the wrong man.

Many in the  Bitcoin community told me that, in deference the Bitcoin creator's clear desire for privacy, they didn't want to see the wizard unmasked. But even among those who said this, few could resist debating the clues the founder had left behind.

As I had these conversations with the programmers and entrepreneurs who are most deeply involved in Bitcoin, I encountered a quiet but widely held belief that much of the most convincing evidence pointed a reclusive American man of Hungarian descent named Nick Szabo.

Mr. Szabo is nearly as much of a mystery as Satoshi. But in the course of my reporting I kept turning up new hints that drew m further into the chase, and I even stumbled into a rare encounter with Mr.Szabo at a private gathering of top Bitcoin programmers and entrepreneurs.

At that event, Mr.Szabo denied that he was Satoshi, as he has consistently in electronic communications, including in an email some days ago. But he acknowledged that his history left little question that he was among a small group of people-

Who, over decades, working sometimes cooperatively and sometimes in competition, laid the foundation for Bitcoin and created many parts that later went into the virtual currency.

But Mr. Szabo's most notable contribution was a Bitcoin predecessor known as bit gold that achieved many of the same goals using similar tools of advanced math and cryptography.

It may be impossible to prove Satoshi's identity and the person or people behind the Bitcoin's curtain decide to come forward and prove ownership of Satoshi's old electronic accounts. At this point, the creator's identity is no longer important to Bitcoin's future.

Since Satoshi stopped contributing to the project in 2011, most of the  open-source code has been rewritten by a group of programmers whose identities are known.

But Mr. Szabo's story provides insight into often misunderstood elements of Bitcoin's creation. The software was not a bolt out of the blue but instead a compilation of the ideas of multiple people over several decades.

This history is more than just a matter of curiosity. The software has come to be viewed in academic and financial circles as a   "significant computer science breakthrough"   that may reshape the way money looks and moves.

Recently banks like Goldman Sachs have taken the first steps to embracing the technology. Mr.Szabo has continued to be quietly involved in the work. In the beginning of 214, Mr.Szabo joined Vaurum-

A Bitcoin startup based in Palo Alto, Calif., that was operating in stealth mode and that aimed to build a better Bitcoin exchange.

Mr.Szabo helped reorient the company to take advantage of the Bitcoin software's capability for so-called smart contracts:

Which enables self-executing financial transactions, according to people briefed on the company operations who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 

The Honour and Serving of this advance ''operational computer science research'' continues. And don't miss the following one, as the mystery deepens.

With respectful dedication to all the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW!   -the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless:

''' The Enigma '''

'''Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless