Who is Nick Szabo, the Man Who Laid the Foundations of Bitcoin?

Nick Szabo is a well-known name in the crypto world. He developed a cryptocurrency called BitGold in 1998 and is also credited with coining the term "smart contracts." In this article, we’ll introduce you to Nick Szabo, the man who laid the foundations of Bitcoin.

Who is Nick Szabo?

Nick Szabo is a computer scientist, legal scholar, and cryptographer known for his research on digital contracts and digital currencies. He effectively argued that the minimum level of microtransactions is determined by the mental processing costs associated with them.

The term "smart contracts" and the concept behind it were developed by Szabo with the goal of introducing highly advanced contract law and applications to the design of electronic commerce protocols between strangers on the Internet. Smart contracts are an essential feature of cryptocurrency and the programming language Ethereum (E).

Nick Szabo graduated from the University of Washington in 1989 with a degree in Computer Science. Later, he obtained a law degree from George Washington University Law School. In 1998, Szabo created BitGold. Though the project was never fully completed, many consider it to be the precursor to Bitcoin. Szabo explained that the inspiration for BitGold came from his desire to solve inefficiencies he saw in the traditional financial system.

The Connection Between Nick Szabo and Bitcoin

In 2014, the Aston University Forensic Linguistics Centre conducted a linguistic analysis of Bitcoin’s technical writings to determine the identity of its creator. The group concluded that Nick Szabo was likely to be Satoshi Nakamoto based on linguistic similarities. Szabo, however, denied these claims. In 2014, he stated, "I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood me as Satoshi, but I’m used to it."

Despite his denial, the idea of Szabo being Satoshi Nakamoto gained traction. In an interview with Elon Musk, the world's richest person at the time, he was asked who could be behind the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto." Musk expressed his belief that Szabo, the creator of BitGold and the person who coined the term “smart contracts,” was Nakamoto. Musk added, “It seems like Nick Szabo is probably responsible for the evolution of these ideas more than anyone else.”

The First Cryptocurrency Wasn’t Bitcoin, But BitGold

Yes, you read that right! You may be surprised, but the first cryptocurrency wasn’t BitGold or Bitcoin. The first cryptocurrency was ECash Coin, developed by David Chaum. BitGold was never launched, but transactions were indeed made with ECash