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Sep 28, 2024 โ€ข 18 tweets โ€ข 6 min read โ€ข Read on X
*WHY ADAM BACK IS A #BITCOIN LEGEND*

Trafficked illegal code that won the Crypto War
Cited in Satoshi's white paper

A thread ๐Ÿ”ฅ Image
1/ A PhD student in the U.K., Adam Back was 25 when he started experimenting with cryptography.

He wanted to shift the balance of power

He saw it as a way to undermine oppressive states โœŠ
2/ Adam quickly joined the Cypherpunk Mailing List

The forum was a cultural force.

The cypherpunks were fighting for privacy and digital rights ๐Ÿ‘
3/ Soon, Adam was no novice when it came to crypto.

In fact, his first act on the list was to claim a bounty issued by none other than Hal Finney.

The challenge? Hack SSL's weak state-approved crypto ๐Ÿ‘ Image
4/ But the 1990s was a dangerous time for cryptographers.

The US government wanted to ban it under weapons exporting laws.

Adam strategized with the cypherpunks on how to retaliate ๐Ÿ‘Š Image
5/ Adam fought back with his code.

He distributed โ€œillegalโ€ cryptography.

Here's his website where users could download PGP โœŠ Image
6/ Adam did his best to disrupt internet surveillance.

Hereโ€™s a tool he used that added flagged words like "terrorist" and "assassination" to his email signature.

The goal was to increase privacy and anonymity ๐Ÿ‘ Image
7/ Adamโ€™s next contribution was the โ€˜Munitions T-Shirt.โ€™

A symbol of civil disobedience, it contained 3 lines of code โ€“ the very cryptography the US was trying to ban

This SHIRT violated weapons exporting laws โ— Image
8/ Announced in 1997, Hashcash was Adam's biggest invention yet

A digital cash could now be backed with computing resources...

It would revive the hope a digital cash could be created ๐Ÿ† Image
9/ Finally, in 2008, Adam received a mysterious email.

From the unknown Satoshi Nakamoto, it heralded a new approach to a decentralized money: #Bitcoin.

Adam read the email, but didn't think it would work... Image
๐Ÿ›‘ CUSTODY CHECK ๐Ÿ›‘

Do you have control of your private keys?
Do you have an inheritance plan?

Head on over to to upgrade Casa.io/history
10/ Then in 2012, Adam re-discovered #Bitcoin

He saw that it was becoming valuable โ€“ย and that the $BTC price had surged to over $100

He re-dedicated himself to the industry โœŠ Image
11/ In 2014, Adam's vision finally became clear

He wanted to supercharge the #Bitcoin network for scaling

He raised $21 million for his own company ๐Ÿ‘ Image
12/ Blockstream attracted top #Bitcoin talent

Founders included some of the network's most prolific coders

This included Greg Maxwell, Matt Corallo, and Pieter Wuille โ€“ย core developers with thousands of commits ๐Ÿ‘Š Image
13/ Adam put the brightest minds in #Bitcoin to work

Here they are in 2017, sending the first transaction relayed by satellite from outer space ๐Ÿคฏ Image
14/ Today, Adam sees #Bitcoin as one of the most important innovations in history

Here he is in 2020 when the price was $9,500

He called it a "new wonder of the world." ๐Ÿ‘ Image
15/ Adam believes Bitcoin will soon pass the market cap for gold

That means institutions and governments buying...

... and a price of $700,000 per $BTC โœŠ Image
16/ Today, Adam is one of the few cypherpunks dedicating his life to #Bitcoin.

He believes $BTC will be worth over $1 million

โœจ Image

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More from @pete_rizzo_

Apr 27
#BITCOIN LEGEND: MIKE PETERSON

Convinced a nation to buy over 5,000 BTC
Brought hope and savings to millions

A thread ๐Ÿ”ฅ Image
1/ As a college student and missionary, Mike travelled the world.

An avid surfer, he fell in love with El Zonte, El Salvador.

In 2012, he moved his family to the country ๐Ÿ‘ Image
2/ Mike was familiar with #Bitcoin in its early days, but didn't start investing until 2016.

It stayed a hobby for him until 2019, when an anonymous donor approached him about a philanthropic project...

He wanted to use BTC for good ๐Ÿ”ฅ
Read 17 tweets
Apr 20
#BITCOIN LEGEND: CHRISTIAN LANGALIS

Told the world to buy BTC at $2,000
Sworn enemy of the Federal Reserve

A thread ๐Ÿ”ฅ Image
1/ In 2017, Christian held up a sign behind Janet Yellen

The sitting chair of the U.S. central bank

It made him a hero overnight in #Bitcoin, but that's not where his story begins...
2/ Just 25 years old, Christian began his career at a global macro fund

There, he was the "young #Bitcoin kid" who wasn't taken seriously.

He realized markets were fake. He started buying $BTC ๐Ÿ‘
Read 14 tweets
Apr 6
#BITCOIN LEGEND: ISAAC MILLER

Watched BTC hit $100
Watched BTC hit $100,000
HODLed all the way

A thread ๐Ÿ”ฅ Image
1/ Isaac got into tech at an early age.

He was homeschooled and taught himself to code at 13.

Then, in 2008, he took on a big task: campaign coordinator for Presidential candidate Ron Paul ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Image
2/ Isaacโ€™s political and tech background led him to #Bitcoin.

He said: โ€œI was running in a lot of libertarian circles and also had international tech connections.โ€

A friend introduced him to BTC โ€“ it was under $1 โ€ผ๏ธ Image
Read 17 tweets
Mar 1
#BITCOIN LEGEND: GAMEKYUUBI

Invented HODLing at $200 in 2013
Knew he was a bad trader, but refused to sell
GF out at a lesbian bar

A thread ๐Ÿ”ฅ Image
1/ GameKyuubi bought his 1st #Bitcoin at $10 in 2011.

Back then, he was a university student in Japan.

By the time he joined Bitcoin Talk in 2013, heโ€™d been trading through 20% drops for 2 years ๐Ÿ˜ฎ Image
2/ GameKyuubi rode the ups and downs.

He bought 5 #Bitcoin at $20 โ€“ but sold at $100

Then, he bought $1,000 worth of BTC at $400, hoping to make back the gains he missed ๐Ÿ’€ Image
Read 18 tweets
Feb 22
Why Jameson Lopp Is A #Bitcoin Legend

Bought his 1st Bitcoin at $10
Erased himself from the internet

A thread ๐Ÿ”ฅ Image
1/ A computer science graduate from North Carolina, Jameson discovered the #Bitcoin white paper in 2012

Here he is tweeting about the 1st halving

The price was $12 โ— Image
2/ Jameson rode the price wave up to $200 in 2013

But he didnโ€™t get discouraged by the 50% crash

Here's why he didn't sell โœŠ Image
Read 17 tweets
Feb 16
He bought 370,000 BTC โ€“ for $0.01 each

Then, he blackmailed a U.S. Senator

The Insane Story of Michael Brown โ€“ the man who lost $36 BILLION worth of #Bitcoin. A thread ๐Ÿ”ฅ Image
1/ Early #Bitcoin was full of opportunities

By mining blocks of 50 BTC on a laptop, some were able to amass HUGE fortunes

One was Michael Mancil Brown, known as KnightMB โ€“ he was once the 7th richest person in Bitcoin ๐Ÿ˜ฎ Image
2/ Brown discovered #Bitcoin in early 2010

When he first got involved, 1 #BTC was less than $0.01

Here he is chatting with Satoshi on the forums ๐Ÿคฏ Image
Read 19 tweets

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