比特幣十歲了——這一切是如何開始的以及未來可能會發生什麼

2008年，有人用化名中本聰（Satoshi Nakamoto）發表了加密貨幣比特幣的設計，提出了初始代碼並活躍在網上

In 2008, someone using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published the design of the cryptocurrency bitcoin, proposed the initial code and was active online for just under two years. In this time, they helped develop the code, answer questions and promote the project. Then, claiming to busy with new things, Nakamoto left working on bitcoin and was probably never heard from again.

2008 年，有人使用化名 Satoshi Nakamoto 發布了加密貨幣比特幣的設計，提出了初始代碼，並在網上活躍了不到兩年的時間。在此期間，他們幫助開發程式碼、回答問題並推廣專案。然後，中本聰聲稱忙於新事物，離開了比特幣工作，可能再也沒有消息了。

HBO’s 2024 documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery finds director Cullen Hoback looking for the real Nakamoto, motivated by bitcoin being “embraced by nation states” and “incorporated into 401(k)s.”

HBO 2024 年的紀錄片《金錢電力：比特幣之謎》發現，導演卡倫·霍巴克(Cullen Hoback) 尋找真正的中本聰，其動機是比特幣「受到民族國家的歡迎」和「納入401( k)s」。

The real Nakamoto?

真正的中本聰？

Several attempts to unmask Nakamoto have been made before. Previous theories suggest that the elusive developer is Irish graduate student Michael Clear, Japanese-American systems engineer Dorian Nakamoto or one of several cypherpunks who worked on predecessors to bitcoin: Hal Finney, Nick Szabo or Adam Back.

先前曾多次嘗試揭開中本聰的面紗。先前的理論表明，難以捉摸的開發者是愛爾蘭研究生邁克爾·克萊爾（Michael Clear）、日裔美國系統工程師多里安·中本（Dorian Nakamoto）或參與比特幣前身的幾位密碼朋克之一：哈芬尼（Hal Finney）、尼克薩博（Nick Szabo）或亞當巴克（Adam Back）。

Hoback confronts the man he suspects of being Nakamoto on camera in the film’s climax: Peter Todd, a software developer from Toronto. On film, Todd alternates between joking about being Nakamoto and calling the theory ludicrous, perhaps necessitating him to make an unequivocal denial in the press after it aired.

在影片的高潮部分，霍巴克在鏡頭前與他懷疑是中本聰的人對峙：來自多倫多的軟體開發人員彼得·托德。在電影中，托德時而開玩笑說自己是中本聰，時而稱該理論可笑，也許這迫使他在播出後向媒體明確否認。

The documentary is entertaining, but does it play it fast and loose? I would draw attention to three things that deserve further thought.

這部紀錄片很有趣，但它的播放速度是否快節奏？我想請大家注意三件值得進一步思考的事情。

Online breadcrumb trail

線上麵包屑路徑

While stopping short of claiming to have conclusively identified bitcoin’s creator, Hoback suggests something Todd once said to Nakamoto online was a slip up.

雖然霍巴克沒有聲稱已經最終確定了比特幣的創造者，但他認為托德曾經在網路上對中本聰說過的話是一個失誤。

The background is this: with bitcoin, users leave tips to have their transactions processed. If the tip is too low, the computers running bitcoin will refuse to process it and the transaction will sit in bitcoin purgatory. Worse, bitcoin users who make this mistake cannot increase the fee without it looking like an attack on the system.

背景是這樣的：對於比特幣，用戶留下提示來處理他們的交易。如果小費太低，運行比特幣的電腦將拒絕處理它，交易將陷入比特幣煉獄。更糟的是，犯這個錯誤的比特幣用戶無法提高費用，否則看起來就像是對系統的攻擊。

In an online post, Nakamoto posts that transactions could be declared safe if they only changed the amount of the fee.

中本聰在線上貼文中表示，如果只改變費用金額，交易就可以被宣佈為安全。

Not long after, Todd chimes in that this is impossible with how bitcoin transactions work. The increased fee has to come from somewhere, namely a decrease in the amount paid out, which changes the transaction. Todd’s message is short: “Of course, to be specific, the inputs and outputs can’t match *exactly* if the second transaction has a transaction fee.”

不久之後，托德插話說，這對比特幣交易的運作方式來說是不可能的。增加的費用必須來自某個地方，即支付金額的減少，這會改變交易。托德的訊息很簡短：“當然，具體來說，如果第二筆交易有交易費用，輸入和輸出就不能*完全*匹配。”

Hoback ponders if maybe Nakamoto meant to correct himself, but somehow accidentally used his real account.

霍巴克思考也許中本聰是想糾正自己，但不知何故無意中使用了他的真實帳戶。

As the documentary recounts, Todd is smart, has developer experience and had been discussing digital cash online since he was a teenager. Todd would eventually be the one to implement the feature Nakamoto described, albeit with a fix to the issue he pointed out.

正如紀錄片所講述的那樣，托德很聰明，擁有開發人員經驗，並且從十幾歲起就一直在網上討論數位現金。托德最終將成為實現中本聰描述的功能的人，儘管他指出了問題的解決方案。

The theory plays out well on film but leaves out a few considerations.

該理論在電影中表現良好，但遺漏了一些考慮。

Early bitcoin enthusiasts were a self-selecting group, and most were as technically minded as Nakamoto or Todd. This technical background is niche but not rare: more than 100,000 computer science students graduate annually in the United States, while there are over 500,000 certified security experts. And there are many equally capable people who are neither of these things.

早期的比特幣愛好者是一個自我選擇的群體，大多數都像中本聰或託德一樣具有技術頭腦。這種技術背景雖小眾，但並不罕見：美國每年有超過 10 萬名電腦科學專業的學生畢業，同時有超過 50 萬名經過認證的安全專家。有許多同樣有能力的人卻不是這兩種人。

Given Hoback’s evidence for Todd is circumstantial, the weight shifts to Todd’s reaction on camera when Hoback outlines his theory: a mix of bemusement, mockery and indignation. The film frames the reaction as incriminating, while others caution against reading anything into it.

鑑於霍巴克為托德提供的證據是間接的，當霍巴克概述他的理論時，重點轉移到了托德在鏡頭前的反應：困惑、嘲笑和憤慨的混合體。影片將這種反應定性為有罪，而其他人則警告不要對其進行任何解讀。

Enter Ethereum

進入以太坊

Bitcoin is maintained by an open group of volunteered computers (whose operators are paid in new bitcoin for the work of validating transactions and storing them on a ledger called the blockchain) where no one is in charge, and yet maintains high security.

比特幣由一組開放的自願計算機維護（其操作員通過驗證交易並將其存儲在稱為區塊鏈的分類賬上的工作以新比特幣支付報酬），沒有人負責，但仍保持高度安全性。

Early bitcoin enthusiasts saw the potential for bitcoin’s blockchain technology to handle more than financial transactions, but the developers helming bitcoin (including Todd) thought it would be best if bitcoin stayed in its lane.

早期的比特幣愛好者看到了比特幣區塊鏈技術處理金融交易之外的潛力，但比特幣的開發者（包括托德）認為，如果比特幣保持在自己的軌道上，那就最好了。

Some bitcoin enthusiasts in Toronto then banded together and launched Ethereum. Led by 21-year-old Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum provides a platform where anyone can run their code on a blockchain simply by paying a fee and pushing a button. The code could be anything from a new digital currency to sophisticated financial technology.

多倫多的一些比特幣愛好者隨後聯合起來推出了以太坊。以太坊由 21 歲的 Vitalik Buterin 領導，提供了一個平台，任何人只需支付費用並按下按鈕即可在區塊鏈上運行程式碼。該代碼可以是從新的數位貨幣到複雜的金融技術的任何東西。

In Hoback’s documentary, many of the interviewees view bitcoin and its developers as competitors and antagonists of Ethereum.

在霍巴克的紀錄片中，許多受訪者將比特幣及其開發人員視為以太坊的競爭對手和對手。

Ethereum gets only about two minutes of screentime, dominated by Buterin rapping about Ethereum on the mainstage of a conference and being ribbed for his hat’s safari flaps.

以太坊的放映時間只有大約兩分鐘，主要是 Buterin 在會議的主舞台上談論以太坊，並因其帽子的狩獵襟翼而被嘲笑。

Hoback’s documentary emphasizes Ethereum’s scam tokens but overlooks the innovative financial services that captured US$64 billion of assets in 2021, as well as its advancements in areas like efficiency and cryptography.

霍巴克的紀錄片強調了以太坊的詐騙代幣，但忽略了在 2021 年捕獲了 640 億美元資產的創新金融服務，以及其在效率和密碼學等領域的進步。

Ironically, it is Ethereum technology that runs crypto-betting platform Polymarket, which hosted a US$44 million betting pool on who would be named as Nakamoto in Hob

諷刺的是，加密博彩平台 Polymarket 運行的正是以太坊技術，該平台託管著 4,400 萬美元的賭池，賭注物件將是《Hob》中的中本聰。