# Satoshi Nakamoto

Pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, who demonstrated a shared ledger secured by cryptographic proof rather than trusted intermediaries.

**Satoshi Nakamoto** is the pseudonym of the person or group who designed Bitcoin and released its reference implementation in 2008–2009. Their identity remains unknown.

## Key works in the library

- [the Bitcoin whitepaper](/docs/bitcoin-whitepaper.md) (2008) — peer-to-peer electronic cash secured by proof-of-work.
- Generalized for applications by [Ethereum's Web3](/docs/ethereum-web3.md).

## Significance

Nakamoto delivered the strongest practical proof of [decentralization](/wiki/decentralization.md): a globally shared ledger with no central owner. This is the "Own" axis the Independent Internet builds on by adding *control*.

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## Backlinks

Pages that link here:

- [Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System](/wiki/bitcoin-whitepaper.md) — Nakamoto's nine-page design for electronic cash without a trusted third party — the strongest practical proof that a global system can run with no central owner.
- [Decentralization Across the Lineage](/wiki/decentralization-across-the-lineage.md) — How one move — removing the central intermediary — recurs from Licklider's network through the Web and Bitcoin to the Independent Internet.
- [Decentralization](/wiki/decentralization.md) — Designing systems with no central owner or single point of control — the structural core of the Independent Internet.
- [Ethereum's Intro to Web3](/wiki/ethereum-web3.md) — The Ethereum Foundation's framing of Web3: a decentralized web built on user-owned, programmable infrastructure.
- [Independent Internet (Web 4.0)](/wiki/web4.md) — The web forgot who it was for. Web 4.0 — the Independent Internet — is a resilient, self-hosted internet people own and control. Explore the research.