Nick Szabo
Born 1964 · Age 61
American computer scientist, legal scholar, and cryptographer known for originating the concepts of smart contracts and Bit Gold, key precursors to modern cryptocurrency and blockchain systems.
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Life & Career Timeline
Graduated University of Washington (B.S. Computer Science)
Completed a degree in computer science at the University of Washington.
Longstanding acquaintance with Hal Finney noted
Szabo is documented as knowing and exchanging ideas with Hal Finney since around 1993, an early Bitcoin/cryptography pioneer.
First public proposal of smart contracts concept
Szabo introduces the concept of 'smart contracts'—computerized protocols that execute contractual terms automatically between parties.
Published 'Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets' (essay)
Expanded on the smart contract idea, describing how self-executing code can embed contractual clauses and reduce reliance on intermediaries.
Published 'Formalizing and Securing Relationships on Public Networks' in First Monday
Peer-reviewed/archived publication addressing formalization and security of contractual relationships on public networks.
Published 'Secure Property Titles with Owner Authority' / Designed Bit Gold
Published work on secure property titles and designed the Bit Gold concept — a decentralized, proof-of-work-based proposal that prefigures Bitcoin.
Conceptualized Bit Gold (design phase)
Formulated Bit Gold: a scheme using proof-of-work, timestamping, and a distributed title registry to create scarce digital property — widely regarded as a direct precursor to Bitcoin.
Published 'The God Protocols'
Authored work combining prior ideas (contracts with bearer, negative reputations, etc.) exploring protocol-level designs for secure transactions.
Published 'Trusted Third Parties Are Security Holes'
Argued that dependence on trusted third parties introduces structural security holes in protocols — a foundational essay for trust-minimization philosophy.
Published 'Shelling Out: The Origins of Money'
Analysis of money's origins and evolution, reinforcing ideas about scarcity-backed and trust-minimized monetary systems.
Detailed proof-of-work store-of-value mechanism
Published work around computationally costly proofs as a store of value — concepts closely related to proof-of-work used by later cryptocurrencies.
Published essay titled 'Bit Gold' (archived online)
Published a consolidated essay on Bit Gold (often cited December 2005 archive) describing the seven-step process and trust-minimisation aims.
Blog-date editing (Bit Gold post date changed to Dec 2008)
Observers later noted the date of the Bit Gold post had been changed to December 2008 (raising speculation about timing relative to Bitcoin's whitepaper).
Blog post seeking collaborators to code a Bit Gold demonstration
Posted on his blog expressing intent to build an experimental market/demo for Bit Gold and asking for help to code it.
Active blog: 'Unenumerated' entry (example: Sotomayor moot court post)
Published a blog entry (example dated 26 May 2009) on his site Unenumerated, demonstrating continued public commentary on law and policy.
TechCrunch profiles Szabo as leading Satoshi candidate
TechCrunch and other outlets highlighted Szabo's work (Bit Gold) and listed him among top candidates for the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.
Dominic Frisby publishes book citing circumstantial evidence
Dominic Frisby's 2014 book 'Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?' presented circumstantial evidence suggesting Szabo could be Satoshi (no proof admitted).
Created/Started active use of Twitter account
Szabo created a public Twitter account (commonly cited as starting mid-2014) and became active sharing technical and political commentary.
Email to Dominic Frisby denying being Satoshi
In July 2014 Szabo emailed Frisby saying 'I'm afraid you got it wrong doxing me as Satoshi, but I'm used to it.'
New York Times profile highlights Szabo as top Satoshi candidate
The New York Times' 'Decoding the Enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto' named Szabo a convincing candidate based on circumstantial evidence.
Tweet warning about rapid block-size increases
Tweeted caution that rapidly increasing Bitcoin block size presents security risk; demonstrates active commentary on protocol security.
Speaking engagement: DEVCON1 — 'Smart Contracts and Ethereum' keynote
Delivered a keynote/talk at Ethereum DEVCON1 (London) on smart contracts and their relationship to Ethereum.
Public commentary supportive of blockchain breakthroughs
Made public comments (Twitter/podcasts) that breakthroughs like Bitcoin and Ethereum start as white papers and can be realized over time.
Honoris Causa Doctorate / Honorary professorship at Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Received an honorary doctorate (Honoris Causa) in Social Sciences from Universidad Francisco Marroquín; cited as holding an honorary professorship there.
Public criticism of Ethereum leadership (retweet/comment)
Retweeted/commented that 'Ethereum is headed for either a huge bureaucracy or disaster,' marking the start of a more critical public stance toward Ethereum.
Tweet criticizing Ethereum's scalability and governance
Commented publicly that 'computational scalability and a governance model that violates immutability are both huge problems for Ethereum.'
Public dispute linked to Vlad Zamfir's criticism ('Against Szabo's Law')
Public disagreements intensified after an article by Vlad Zamfir criticizing the idea sometimes ascribed to Szabo (governance minimization), escalating public debate.
Podcast remarks: disavowing Ethereum leadership approach
In a podcast interview he said he 'abandoned (Ethereum) long ago' citing leadership's poor understanding of governance and trust-minimization.
Media estimate: Nick Szabo's net worth reported (~$5M)
A December 2023 Medium article estimated Szabo's net worth at ~$5 million, citing his work, speaking fees, and influence (unofficial estimate).
Ongoing public intellectual / commentator and educator
Continues to publish essays (Unenumerated), give occasional talks, tweet/comment on crypto governance, and serve in honorary academic roles.
Coinpaper profile summarizing career and influence
Coinpaper published a detailed profile (Feb 27, 2025) covering Szabo's early life, education, Bit Gold, smart contracts and influence; reiterated honorary roles and influence.
Key Achievement Ages
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