5050 BTC for $5. Martti Malmi, who? 🤯
Story of the man who made the historic Bitcoin transaction in 2009, a moment preceding even the famed Bitcoin Pizza Day. At Bitcoin’s peak of $70,000, he would have banked $350 million 🤮
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Martti 'Sirius' Malmi, a Finnish computer scientist and software developer, played a significant role in the early years of Bitcoin's development.
Malmi's initial contributions to Bitcoin included writing documentation, creating a FAQ section, and establishing the first Bitcoin community forum, which later became BitcoinTalk.
He played a pivotal role in growing Bitcoin's user base and community.
This period also marked the inception of Bitcoin's value, with Malmi famously selling 5,050 BTC for $5.02, setting the early price at $0.0009 per coin.
The Bitcoin was used to seed an exchange called New Liberty Standard, which established the first BTC price of 1,309.03 BTC for $1.
Early Life and Introduction to Bitcoin
Malmi first encountered Bitcoin while studying computer science at Helsinki University. After graduating, he worked as a trainee at Siemens, where he was responsible for web development using a content management system.
During this time, Malmi was also researching peer-to-peer currencies. He stumbled upon the Bitcoin whitepaper, recognising it as a groundbreaking decentralised solution.
Influenced by the Pirate Party in Sweden, he reached out to Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, offering his assistance.
Early Involvement in Bitcoin
Satoshi entrusted Malmi with more responsibilities, including writing C++ code for Bitcoin itself.
By December 2009, Bitcoin version 0.2 was released, featuring Linux support for which Malmi was responsible, earning special thanks from Satoshi.
Buying a Studio with Bitcoin
In the early days, Bitcoin mining was less competitive, allowing Malmi to mine a substantial amount, ultimately selling most of it when Bitcoin's price was between $15 and $30.
He humorously remarked that he didn't regret missing out on significant earnings, as he managed to buy a studio apartment in Helsinki, alluding to the famous "two pizzas" incident.
Malmi expressed his belief in Bitcoin's greater purpose, stating that early Bitcoiners set something greater in motion than personal gain, emphasising the significance of pursuing a purpose beyond oneself.
Malmi's Post-Satoshi Journey
Malmi retained some of his Bitcoin because Satoshi personally asked him to run a node.
However, he acknowledged that Bitcoin had lost some of its initial appeal after Satoshi's departure.
While the community had grown considerably, Malmi found the project less inspiring and exciting, leading him to explore other projects.
Post-Bitcoin Endeavours
Today, Martti Malmi is involved in various ventures, including a digital reputation system called Identifi, a decentralised database known as GUN, and the launch of a new cryptocurrency, AXE.
He remains connected to the Bitcoin community, discussing developments and controversies, though he no longer plays a central role in Bitcoin's development.
The Debate: Is Martti Malmi Satoshi?
Technical Ability: Malmi's computer science degree and his extensive experience as a developer demonstrate his programming proficiency, making him technically capable of creating Bitcoin.
Timeline: Malmi's work as a trainee at Siemens aligned with the timeframe of Bitcoin's creation, suggesting he had sufficient spare time to develop Bitcoin.
Denial: Malmi has consistently denied being Satoshi when asked about it.
Collaboration with Satoshi: Malmi's close collaboration with Satoshi during Bitcoin's early days and Satoshi's acknowledgment of his contributions make it unlikely that Malmi was Satoshi.
Watch the man bare his heart out in this in-depth interview.
TTD Week That Was 📆
Saturday: Will AI gobble all jobs? 🦧
Friday: Can you ever forgive SAM? 🦅
Thursday: Comeback Kid 🔥
Wednesday: Sam's days in court 🍵
Tuesday: Spring's here? 🌼
Monday: Bitcoin's October glow-up 🌟
TTD Week in Funding 💰
Modulus Labs. $6M. Makes use of ZKML (zero-knowledge machine learning) and combines ZK proofs for AI models.
Surf Protocol. $3M. To develop the first permissionless perpetual decentralised exchange (Perp DEX), set to be launched on Base.
Vaas. $2M. Anti-fraud company, tracking the entire history of assets within crypto wallets and identifies irregular or suspicious transactions.
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