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Author: Netki CEO Justin Newton, CoinDesk; Compiled by Tao Zhu, Bitchain Vision
An HBO documentary released Tuesday reignited speculation that my late friend Len Sassaman was Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin.The filmmaker claimed to have confronted people he believed were Satoshi Nakamoto, so Len, who committed suicide in 2011, was unlikely to be his suspect.Still, others convincingly elaborate on Len’s technical abilities that make him a logical Satoshi Nakamoto candidate.
No matter how the film claims, I want to share what I know about Len and why I think he is Satoshi Nakamoto, too.
Len Sassaman, photographed around 2006 (Simon Law/Wikimedia Commons)
When I met Len Sassaman, he was wearing a crumpled jacket and tie.We were in the living room of Thomas Ruth, history teacher at the Pottstown Boarding School, Pennsylvania.Len was a junior at the time, and I, an alumnus working in the data center business, just returned from the San Francisco Bay Area to visit Tom for a long weekend.
Len sat on the sofa and I sat on the chair next to me.Tom is one of my mentors, and he is known for taking in children who have difficulty growing up or have difficulty integrating into society.Len is such a child.He has difficulty maintaining normal eye contact and will greatly devalue his achievements.
Even though he was only 16 years old, Len showed great potential to be a computer scientist and Tom asked me if I would be a friend in this field to help Len find a foothold and a path.Tom gave me a lot of help, so of course I agreed.On the first day, we spent about two and a half hours in Tom’s living room, drinking the equivalent of Jolt Cola’s hot tea because it contains all the sugar and has twice the caffeine content in the teacup.
When I looked back on that conversation, I remember a lot of things we discussed that day, and in retrospect, Len’s idea fits very well with Satoshi Nakamoto.
Another of my mentors pointed out to me how technology and history influence each other cyclically, and how great inventions change society and the world.Len and I shared this epiphany moment: a technically superb skill can be a lever, and if pulled tight enough, it can push the world in the direction we want.
At this moment of discussion, Len went from being passive, shy and restrained to being passionate and deeply devoted.Until then, he had lived in a world shaped by popular kids; his posture immediately changed surprisingly from lazy poses after seeing a path he could participate in shaping the future without having to be the eye-catching oneTurning straight and leaning forward, eyes turning from low to wide, looking straight at me.
At this time, Tom sat in a chair with a knowing smile on his face and occasionally stood up.In the next few hours, we discussed the importance of freedom of communication, network anonymity, and democratization of information.The conversation includes developing open source software and standards, expressing our values through code, creating software that can change the world, and predicting some of these impacts.
Silicon Valley years
Shortly after I moved to Los Angeles to work for NetZero, an internet service provider, Len moved to San Francisco.I introduced him to my friends in the North American Network Operator Group (NANOG) and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) communities.
We have maintained a relatively close connection for the 10 years since then.We didn’t talk for a while, and then I would get an email or text asking “Do you have time to make a call?” without any background information.Some calls are quick questions about career advice because he is considering job opportunities or whether he should stay in a position that is not completely attractive to him.These are usually quick calls because he just needs someone in the field he trusts to verify his ideas or what he sees.
The longer call is similar to a conversation on Tom’s sofa.We spent hours talking about the value of open and license-free innovation and the importance of allowing people to build a network without asking for permission.
We talked for hours about the pros and cons between allowing bad guys to do bad things and getting good guys to act quickly without waiting for the consent of slow and conservative institutions.
Ultimately, we agree that the network itself should be fully open and that control should be established at other levels, either using technology wherever possible or using laws when absolutely necessary.
This principle is at the heart of Bitcoin and is perhaps its most valuable and lasting feature.
Satoshi Nakamoto?Maybe
Many people give logical reasons that Len cannot be Satoshi Nakamoto, but in my opinion, these people simply don’t know who Len is.Here is my response to their views:
“Len was not rich at the time, and his family is not rich now.” Len believes that the purpose of engaging in technical work is not to get rich, but to create a future in which we all want to live.This coincides with the fact that Satoshi never made a profit from Bitcoin, because the currency mined by the Bitcoin creator has not moved.I can totally imagine Len destroying his private key to his mining wallet to make sure he or anyone else can’t make money with what he does.
“Len is a Bitcoin skeptic and criticizes Bitcoin on Twitter.” Len often criticizes projects he has deeply involved in.One of his character manifestations is believing that he is not doing well enough, even if it is excellent.If he was really Satoshi Nakamoto, publishing these criticisms would be a great way for him to remain anonymous and distanced.
Other points:
Len firmly believes in building an open and license-free network of innovations.This feature of Bitcoin initially attracted me, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if Len had built such a network.
Len 100% believes that individual rights are higher than authority.At the same time, he is not the kind of liberal who pours into the early Bitcoin community.I can see with certainty that if he was Satoshi, seeing his creations being exploited by someone who got rich overnight could lead him to abandon the project and possibly exacerbate his depression.
To be clear: Len and I have never discussed Bitcoin, and if he was Satoshi, it would be easy for me to understand why he didn’t want to discuss it with me or any of our friends.At the end of the day, I don’t know if he is Satoshi.Given his skills and character, he certainly might be Satoshi.
Anyway, Len is a great guy who deserves to be treated better than the world.His memories shine in my heart.
