The 260 emails, totaling 140,000 words, between Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, and Martti Malmi, an early developer, contain a wealth of primary historical information about the early days of the cryptocurrency. While some of the material has been seen before, the email exchanges between May 2009 and February 2011 provide a more casual and natural glimpse into Satoshi’s character. He displays both prescience and naivety, foreseeing the environmental challenges Bitcoin might face but not fully understanding its scaling issues. The correspondence was made public by Malmi due to an important trial in the UK involving Craig Wright, who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. Experts have analyzed the emails, noting the conversational and informal tone compared to Satoshi’s public postings. They have also examined Satoshi’s language, which offers clues about his background and personality. While the emails shed light on Satoshi’s departure from Bitcoin, they do not provide enough information to definitively identify him. Ultimately, it is the decentralized nature of Bitcoin that is important, transcending any individual’s identity.
Decoding Satoshi: Insights into Bitcoin's creator from the Malmi emails