Bitcoin tested $73,000, marking 16 years since the publication of the first cryptocurrency’s white paper. Stephen Mulla declared himself Satoshi Nakamoto, Changpeng Zhao made his first public appearance after being released from prison, and other events of the past week unfolded.
Bitcoin Tests the $73,000 Level
The leading cryptocurrency began the week rising above $68,000. On Tuesday, October 29, digital gold surpassed $72,000. The following day, the asset broke through $73,000, nearing its all-time high, but failed to surpass it.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $68,400.
Most digital assets in the top 10 by market capitalization ended the week in the red. Solana (-8.9%) and BNB (-5.3%) were the biggest losers.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $2.4 trillion, with Bitcoin’s dominance index at 60.5%.
16 Years Since the Bitcoin White Paper
On October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper. The technical document described the workings of a peer-to-peer payment system that would later revolutionize the world of financial technology.
The identity of the creator of the first cryptocurrency remains unknown, as does whether it was an individual or a group of people.
In October, the HBO documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery named Peter Todd as the creator of Bitcoin. The programmer denied this. He later revealed that he now has to hide for safety reasons.
The preface to the white paper states:
“A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to this problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work.”
The Bitcoin network launched in January 2009. Two years later, Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared, and the public has yet to discover who authored the document that underpins a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Stephen Mulla Declares Himself Bitcoin’s Creator
On October 31, an event at London’s Front Line Club saw a man named Stephen Mulla claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
“I am at an event in London advertised as ‘the unveiling of the true legal identity of Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto’,” wrote BBC News reporter Joe Tidy, who broadcast the event on X.
According to the journalist, he paid the organizer £500 for the opportunity to attend and ask questions. Journalists from other major publications and representatives of crypto platforms also attended.
“We are also wasting time on this ridiculous event,” shared BitMEX Research.
According to the Financial Times, the new self-proclaimed Satoshi is “about 58 years old.” He claims to have designed the Twitter logo, eurobonds, and Bitcoin — the idea for the latter came to him about 20 years ago during a walk in the Himalayas:
“Satoshi is a pseudonym I started using on April 5, 2007. I am the inventor of Bitcoin and blockchain technology. I wrote the white paper.”
Topics to Discuss with Friends
- Elon Musk predicted the creation of 10 billion humanoid robots by 2040.
- In Moscow, teenage crypto traders were robbed of 1.36 million rubles.
- Russia’s Ministry of Energy named regions for a future mining ban.
- Reddit sold its Bitcoin reserves.
Changpeng Zhao Makes First Public Appearance After Prison Release
Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) participated in the Binance Blockchain Week conference in Dubai, where he discussed his imprisonment conditions during his speech.
He stated that after his release at the end of September, he focused on two things: education and investments in blockchain, AI, and life sciences.
CZ confirmed that his departure as Binance CEO was part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice, which was already publicly known. The deal concluded in November 2023 did not involve a lifetime ban, only a three-year term.
In September 2024, the exchange permanently barred Zhao from management. At Binance Blockchain Week, the entrepreneur stated he does not intend to return to leading the company even if given the opportunity.
MicroStrategy to Raise $42 Billion for Bitcoin Purchases
In its Q3 financial results, MicroStrategy reported a $340.2 million loss and outlined a plan to raise $42 billion to continue its Bitcoin purchasing strategy.
The business analytics software provider’s revenue was $116.1 million — about $8 million below consensus estimates and 10.3% less than the same period last year. The firm attributed this to a decline in product license and support revenues.
Operating expenses for the quarter reached $514.3 million, mainly due to impairment losses on digital assets amounting to $412.1 million.
During the quarter, MicroStrategy acquired 25,889 BTC at an average price of $60,839, spending approximately $1.6 billion. As of September 30, MicroStrategy held 252,220 BTC with a market value of $16 billion.
The current figure is around $18.3 billion. Since August 2020, the firm has spent $6.9 billion on digital gold purchases.
Also on ForkLog:
- Apple Intelligence was publicly released.
- A “long-lived whale” moved 159 BTC.
- Zcash celebrated eight years since its launch.
- A trader lost over $1.6 million due to a hasty token sale.
Bitwise Predicts Bitcoin at $200,000
Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan suggested that the first cryptocurrency’s price could rise to $200,000. He stated that the collapse of the US dollar is not necessary for this to happen.
“When you invest in Bitcoin, you are essentially making two bets simultaneously: that Bitcoin will establish itself as a new store of value asset, and that governments will misuse fiat currencies, increasing demand for store of value assets,” he wrote.
The capitalization of the first cryptocurrency is approximately 7% of gold’s $18 trillion figure. If Bitcoin “matures” and reaches 50%, its price will soar above $400,000, Hougan believes.
“The second argument: the store of value market is growing because governments are abusing their currencies. If this market triples, and Bitcoin simply maintains its 7% share, each BTC will be worth more than $200,000,” stated Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer.
Hougan believes these arguments complement each other.
“If Bitcoin matures and the store of value market doubles, you quickly reach seven-figure numbers. I consider this the most likely scenario,” he added.
To reach the $200,000 mark, digital gold needs to continue its “current path of maturing as an institutional asset,” the expert noted. A collapse of the US dollar is not a prerequisite for such growth.
What Else to Read?
This week, ForkLog explored who Adam Back and Cathie Wood are, as well as what fully homomorphic encryption is.
In our traditional digest, we compiled the week’s main events in cybersecurity.