比特币十岁了——这一切是如何开始的以及未来可能会发生什么

2008年，有人用化名中本聪（Satoshi Nakamoto）发表了加密货币比特币的设计，提出了初始代码并活跃在网上

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 发布了加密货币比特币的设计，提出了初始代码，并在网上活跃了不到两年的时间。在此期间，他们帮助开发代码、回答问题并推广项目。然后，中本聪声称忙于新事物，离开了比特币的工作，可能再也没有消息了。

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 年的纪录片《金钱电力：比特币之谜》发现，导演卡伦·霍巴克 (Cullen Hoback) 寻找真正的中本聪，其动机是比特币“受到民族国家的欢迎”和“纳入 401(k)s”。

The real Nakamoto?

真正的中本聪？

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.

此前曾多次尝试揭开中本聪的面纱。先前的理论表明，难以捉摸的开发者是爱尔兰研究生迈克尔·克莱尔（Michael Clear）、日裔美国系统工程师多里安·中本（Dorian Nakamoto）或参与比特币前身的几位密码朋克之一：哈尔·芬尼（Hal Finney）、尼克·萨博（Nick Szabo）或亚当·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，霍巴克在镜头前与他怀疑是中本聪的人对峙：来自多伦多的软件开发人员彼得·托德。在电影中，托德时而开玩笑说自己是中本聪，时而称该理论可笑，也许这迫使他在播出后向媒体明确否认。

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

这部纪录片很有趣，但它的播放速度是否快节奏？我想提请大家注意三件值得进一步思考的事情。

Online breadcrumb trail

在线面包屑路径

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.

虽然霍巴克没有声称已经最终确定了比特币的创造者，但他认为托德曾经在网上对中本聪说过的话是一个失误。

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.

背景是这样的：对于比特币，用户留下提示来处理他们的交易。如果小费太低，运行比特币的计算机将拒绝处理它，交易将陷入比特币炼狱。更糟糕的是，犯了这个错误的比特币用户无法提高费用，否则看起来就像是对系统的攻击。

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

中本聪在一篇在线帖子中表示，如果只改变费用金额，交易就可以被宣布为安全。

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.”

不久之后，托德插话说，这对于比特币交易的运作方式来说是不可能的。增加的费用必须来自某个地方，即支付金额的减少，这会改变交易。托德的信息很简短：“当然，具体来说，如果第二笔交易有交易费用，输入和输出就不能*完全*匹配。”

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

霍巴克思考也许中本聪是想纠正自己，但不知何故无意中使用了他的真实账户。

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.

正如纪录片所讲述的那样，托德很聪明，拥有开发人员经验，并且从十几岁起就一直在网上讨论数字现金。托德最终将成为实现中本聪描述的功能的人，尽管他指出了问题的解决方案。

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

该理论在电影中表现良好，但遗漏了一些考虑因素。

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.

早期的比特币爱好者是一个自我选择的群体，大多数都像中本聪或托德一样具有技术头脑。这种技术背景虽小众，但并不罕见：美国每年有超过 10 万名计算机科学专业的学生毕业，同时有超过 50 万名经过认证的安全专家。有许多同样有能力的人却不是这两种人。

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.

鉴于霍巴克为托德提供的证据是间接的，当霍巴克概述他的理论时，重点转移到了托德在镜头前的反应：困惑、嘲笑和愤慨的混合体。影片将这种反应描述为有罪，而其他人则警告不要对其进行任何解读。

Enter Ethereum

进入以太坊

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.

比特币由一组开放的自愿计算机维护（其操作员通过验证交易并将其存储在称为区块链的分类账上的工作以新比特币支付报酬），没有人负责，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.

早期的比特币爱好者看到了比特币区块链技术处理金融交易之外的潜力，但比特币的开发者（包括托德）认为，如果比特币保持在自己的轨道上，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.

多伦多的一些比特币爱好者随后联合起来推出了以太坊。以太坊由 21 岁的 Vitalik Buterin 领导，提供了一个平台，任何人只需支付费用并按下按钮即可在区块链上运行代码。该代码可以是任何东西，从新的数字货币到复杂的金融技术。

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

在霍巴克的纪录片中，许多受访者将比特币及其开发商视为以太坊的竞争对手和对手。

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.

以太坊的放映时间只有大约两分钟，主要是 Buterin 在会议的主舞台上谈论以太坊，并因其帽子的狩猎襟翼而被嘲笑。

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.

霍巴克的纪录片强调了以太坊的诈骗代币，但忽视了在 2021 年捕获了 640 亿美元资产的创新金融服务，以及其在效率和密码学等领域的进步。

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

讽刺的是，加密博彩平台 Polymarket 运行的正是以太坊技术，该平台托管着 4400 万美元的赌池，赌注对象将是《Hob》中的中本聪。