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The net worth of the developer or team of devs credited with the development of Bitcoin, the first and foremost crypto, has reportedly surpassed that of the CEO of tech giant Microsoft, who happens to be the world’s fifth-wealthiest individual. This occurred unexpectedly and due to the rising price of Bitcoin, which sent the wallet of the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator to a value of $113.8BN. Bitcoin has been fluctuating moderately as of late and trading in the green for a good time. Aspiring investors and Bitcoin owners alike keep their eyes glued on the crypto charts in an attempt to determine when it’s the best time to cash out, provided they’re investing with short-term profits in mind.
With Bitcoin’s newest all-time high established at almost $112K and a current price tag per coin of 106K, Satoshi Nakamoto isn’t the only figure sitting on a fortune – though the fortune has shrunk with Bitcoin’s latest, tiny drop. Institutional investors like BlackRock or VanEck do too, as well as whales, whose supply usually surpasses 1K BTC. All wallets containing Bitcoin are on plus – it’s only a matter of the amount of BTC held. Since a coin is extremely pricey, many retail investors opt for shares of other, more affordable cryptos, which can rise and generate some sizable returns.
For someone who has always stayed low-profile, never spoken to the media, and stuck to every single bitcoin, this short-lived milestone is remarkable for Nakamoto. It’s not just about the financial implications but also about what this achievement represents in the broader economic landscape.
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Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity remains one of the most pressing secrets of the century. Despite ceaseless attempts by researchers and journalists to unmask the high-value persona, the MVP’s identity keeps being shrouded in mystery. The name first entered the public eye in 2008, in light of the release of a whitepaper named “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. The first transaction with Bitcoin was registered a year later, three days into the release of the first open-source Satoshi (or Bitcoin) client – software that supported the first wallet program. The wallet was Nakamoto’s and was used to send 10 Bitcoins to an American software dev. The first noteworthy retail transaction, however, occurred in 2010, when a miner spent 10K mined Bitcoins on two pizzas. If they kept it, they’d now possess a sum revolving around $1.05B. After all, if you invested in 10K BTC a decade ago, you would have made about a 456X return on your investment by today.
Since Nakamoto's 2009 personal transaction, the headliner has disappeared from public view, leaving behind a groundbreaking invention that was about to revolutionize the financial system and an astronomical yet untouched fortune. The wallet addresses believed to belong to Nakamoto contain around 1.1MN BTC, all mined in Bitcoin’s early days when few saw any potential in it. These coins have never been moved, traded, or sold.
Bill Gates: making wealth and giving back to the community
Bill Gates hasn’t made a name only for developing one of our times’ most prominent tech companies but for donating and supporting humanitarian causes financially, too. After building Microsoft, the founder transitioned from corporate leadership into international philanthropy. He has donated billions to initiatives supporting global health, education, and disease eradication, to name a few.
Only recently, Gates has grabbed the headlines with a plan according to which he’d donate 99% of his $200BN wealth by 2045 in an effort to enhance Africa’s education and health systems, as well as climate-related projects, over the following 2 decades. All of these acts occur through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – a private charitable foundation developed by the A-lister together with his spouse, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett as a trustee.
Gates’ net worth is steadily declining, not because of losses but because of his philanthropic giving. The intention behind his latest actions has shifted from wealth accumulation to impact investment, changing lives through global development.
What about Gates’ children’s inheritance?
Contrary to many ultra-rich individuals, UHNWI Gates isn’t planning to leave anything more than 1% of his wealth to his children. The bulk of his funds go to the family foundation. True to form, Gates prefers to allow his two daughters and one son the opportunity to achieve their own success, a desire that would be hindered if they had everything on a silver platter. They’re not pressed by the expectation of receiving their dad’s fortune, so they’re encouraged by now to find their own path. Plus, the tycoon believes that their good upbringing and education secure them a significant edge.
Instead, his wealth can make a terrific difference in underdeveloped regions and leave a positive example for the world.
What’s behind all these numbers?
The fact that an anonymous coder’s wealth has surpassed that of one of the best-known and richest philanthropic billionaires isn’t just a godsend for journalists and newspapers. It’s a one-of-a-kind moment in history that marks more milestones and could have a lingering impact, such as:
- This news could mark the beginning of digital assets surpassing traditional financial models;
- Decentralized networks might sooner or later replace centralized institutions;
- Trust based on code may replace influence based on individual personalities.
Bill Gates made his wealth via a centralized tech empire and redistributed it through institutions. In contrast, at the core of Nakamoto’s net worth lies decentralization. Bitcoin is all about code and consensus, existing without central authorities, executives, or borders.
Concluding words
The news of Satoshi Nakamoto overtaking Bill Gates in net worth is about more than the billions of dollars and expands into the fact that an era might be ending in favor of another. The development could symbolize a shift toward decentralized, borderless systems of value and governance.
One titan built a company that forever changed computing, and the other created a code that changed money and value transfer. Both are giants in their sectors and have revolutionized what people understand through computing, the Internet, money transfers, and the list goes on.