Gavin Andresen
Born 1966 · Age 59
Software developer best known for early and central contributions to Bitcoin; former lead developer of the Bitcoin Core reference implementation and founder/chief scientist of the Bitcoin Foundation. Previously worked on 3D graphics, VRML, VoIP and accessibility-focused games.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born (as Gavin Bell)
Born in Melbourne, Australia. Birth name recorded as Gavin Bell (later known as Gavin Andresen).
Family moved to the United States
At about age 5 his family moved from Australia to Seattle, Washington (later lived in Anchorage, Alaska and Santa Ynez Valley, CA).
Graduated Princeton University (B.S. Computer Science)
Completed computer science degree at Princeton University (attended circa 1984–1988).
Joined Silicon Graphics (SGI) as software engineer
Began working on 3D graphics and virtual reality software (Open Inventor, VRML-related work) at Silicon Graphics Computer Systems.
Launched SkyPaint (Wasabi Software)
Released SkyPaint — a painting/editing tool for 3D wraparound panoramas, leveraging SGI/VRML experience.
Co-authored VRML 2.0 specification
Contributed heavily to VRML 2.0 (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) specification used for interactive 3D on the web.
Left Silicon Graphics and founded Wasabi Software
Departed Silicon Valley/SGI and founded Wasabi Software to pursue independent software ventures.
Published VRML reference material and co-authored 'Wired for Speed' paper
Published a VRML 2.0 reference manual and co-authored research/paper on efficient routes in VRML 2.0.
Worked on VoIP technologies (Resounding/HearMe)
Served as CTO/engineer on early voice-over-IP technologies (linked to Resounding Technologies / HearMe work around 1998–2001).
Co-founded All in Play (multiplayer online games for blind and sighted players)
Co-founded a company creating multiplayer online games that enabled blind people to play with sighted friends (approx. 2001–2005 involvement).
Worked on Prosper (loan management) and Gravity Switch (CMS)
Contributed to Prosper-related tools and led CMS implementation work at Gravity Switch (approx. 2004–2007).
Joined University of Massachusetts Amherst lab (Information Extraction and Synthesis Laboratory)
Worked on a digital library/search engine project covering computer science literature (IESL) around 2007–2009.
Discovered Bitcoin (via InfoWorld)
First learned of Bitcoin in May 2010 after reading an InfoWorld article; recognized the design and potential.
Purchased 10,000 BTC for $50
Early adopter purchase: bought 10,000 bitcoins for approximately USD 50 to experiment with the system.
Launched The Bitcoin Faucet (gave away BTC)
Created the Bitcoin Faucet (initially awarded 5 BTC per visitor) to distribute coins and drive adoption; faucet operated until about 2012.
Launched ClearCoin (escrow/exchange service)
Introduced ClearCoin on Dec 7, 2010 — an escrow-style bitcoin exchange intended to provide buyer/seller protection.
Satoshi Nakamoto's final forum post
Satoshi posted what became his final message on the BitcoinTalk forum (December 2010) and began stepping back from public involvement.
Announced taking more active project management of Bitcoin
Posted on BitcoinTalk that, with Satoshi's blessing, he would begin to do more active project management for Bitcoin — effectively becoming Satoshi's successor for development.
Major Bitcoin Core redesign and renaming
Led reworking of Satoshi's original codebase; after months of changes the client software was stabilized and became known as Bitcoin Core (much of the original code was rewritten).
Quoted by Forbes praising Bitcoin (April 2011)
Forbes quoted his views: Bitcoin is decentralized currency of the people and compared it to 'better gold than gold.'
Closed ClearCoin
Announced ClearCoin would close in June 2011 due to inability to manage both the exchange service and Bitcoin Core work simultaneously.
Spoke at CIA / In-Q-Tel emerging technologies conference
Presented Bitcoin to an emerging technologies conference for US intelligence community (reported as taking place at CIA headquarters); tweeted about the hallways being wide.
Proposed idea for a Bitcoin Foundation
Presented the idea of a non-profit Bitcoin Foundation to help with adoption, legal issues, trademark/domain management and developer funding.
Bitcoin Faucet shut down
The Bitcoin Faucet, which had gradually reduced its giveaways as BTC rose in value, was closed in 2012.
Bitcoin Foundation formally established; appointed chief scientist
The Bitcoin Foundation began operations in September 2012; Andresen served as chief scientist to support and nurture Bitcoin development.
Recognition in mainstream technology press
Featured in coverage (e.g., MIT Technology Review, New York Times) as a central figure in Bitcoin's development and called 'the man who really built Bitcoin.'
Appeared on stage at Web Summit
Public speaker appearance (image caption shows him center stage during Day 3 of the 2014 Web Summit).
Authored / promoted BIP-101 and block-size increase advocacy
Advocated a controversial plan to increase Bitcoin's block size (BIP-101) and sought faster scaling changes, bypassing some formal core-development channels.
Mt. Gox scandal and Bitcoin Foundation scrutiny
Mt. Gox collapse (affecting board member Mark Karpelès) and earlier Charlie Shrem's legal problems put the Bitcoin Foundation under negative spotlight in early 2014.
Stepped down as lead maintainer of Bitcoin Core
In April 2014 Andresen left his active role as lead maintainer of Bitcoin Core and delegated responsibilities to Wladimir van der Laan.
Promoted / helped launch Bitcoin XT (fork advocating larger blocks)
Worked with Mike Hearn to promote Bitcoin XT (a fork/alternative client that implemented BIP-101 as a scaling solution).
Spoke at CoinScrum London on block-size debate (with Mike Hearn)
Publicly discussed scaling and block-size solutions at CoinScrum, amplifying his advocacy for larger blocks.
Published 'An Analysis of Attacks on Blockchain Consensus'
Authored a technical analysis examining attack vectors on blockchain consensus mechanisms (2016).
Last contribution to Bitcoin Core code (Feb 2016)
Reportedly his last code contribution to the Bitcoin project was in February 2016; contributions thereafter ceased.
Publicly stated belief Craig Wright is Satoshi
Published a blog post asserting that Australian programmer Craig Wright was Satoshi Nakamoto after a meeting in London (May 2, 2016).
GitHub commit access revoked
Bitcoin Core maintainers revoked Andresen's commit/ownership privileges on the bitcoin GitHub organization after his support for Craig Wright.
Expressed regret over Satoshi identity controversy
Published a later blog post expressing regret about getting involved in the 'who was Satoshi' controversy and said trusting Craig Wright was a mistake.
Reported (low-confidence) net worth estimate in secondary sources
Secondary/uncorroborated sources (e.g., some online wiki pages) reported a net worth estimate of roughly USD 400 million in 2017 — this is unverified and given low confidence.
Resigned from Bitcoin Foundation and MIT DCI (confirmed)
Confirmed he had resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation and the MIT Digital Currency Initiative earlier in 2017; moved away from major Bitcoin org roles.
Reported cumulative GitHub contributions snapshot
Public GitHub contributor stats (as of a snapshot) noted tens of thousands of lines added/removed (e.g., ~64,000 lines added and ~76,000 removed) and multiple BIPs authored.
Expressed support for Bitcoin Cash
Publicly supported Bitcoin Cash (a Bitcoin hard fork with larger blocks), saying it aligned more with his original vision for Bitcoin as cash and store of value.
Work on Graphene and other research / 'stealth' projects
Reported involvement in protocol research such as Graphene (block-relay / propagation efficiency) and other private/stealth projects after stepping back from Bitcoin Core.
Occasional contributions/ideas for Bitcoin Cash (UTXO bit-vector idea)
Made a GitHub contribution titled 'Storing UTXO as a bit-vector' intended for Bitcoin Cash (a contribution noted on the Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash discussion pages).
Not actively contributing to Bitcoin since 2016
Multiple sources note that Andresen has not made contributions to Bitcoin Core since February 2016 and has largely remained out of the core-development community.
Maintains a public blog and occasional commentary
Continues to post occasional reflections and technical notes on personal site and social media about Bitcoin history, design, and related projects.
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