Did you know #SatoshiNakamoto’s pre release #Bitcoin code included a poker lobby and a peer to peer marketplace?
These early features offer a rare glimpse into Satoshi’s broader vision for what Bitcoin might one day support. We explore them in this chapter, visualised by gmunk (@gmunk) using the original source code as his medium.
After launching the Bitcoin network on January 3 2009, Satoshi published the source code five days later. Written in C++ and released for Windows, it revealed both his thinking and his technical depth. Many people have read the Whitepaper. Far fewer have read the actual code, which is long, intricate and full of unexpected details.
Like the Whitepaper, #Satoshi privately shared an early draft of the code in late 2008. This pre release version contained features that did not make it to v0.1 on January 8 2009. These included a basic IRC client, a peer to peer marketplace and even a virtual poker game. It also used the term bitcoin miner, a phrase that never appeared in the Whitepaper.
The curiosities are interesting, but the main achievement is more important. In roughly 15,000 lines of C++, Satoshi solved the double spending problem that had blocked earlier digital cash attempts. He implemented Proof of Work, the peer to peer network, and even included a graphical wallet interface.
Satoshi later wrote that once version 0.1 was released, the core design was effectively set in stone. Still, he warned testers that the software was alpha and might need a full restart.
Fefe Demeny observes that Satoshi created Bitcoin to help people escape a broken financial system. He delivered a profound innovation and chose to remain anonymous, giving the invention without seeking recognition.
Bitcoin needed more than one node to come alive. The first to join was #HalFinney, who downloaded the code on January 10 and wrote: I am looking forward to trying it out.
Those early users did not realise they were making history. They were simply experimenting with new software. Yet some saw something greater. They recognised a financial network unlike anything before it and kept their nodes online to support it.
Read the full article:
https://www.historyofbitcoin.io/timeline/straight-from-the-source
Artwork: Death of Kings, Rise of Code by gmunk (@gmunk on X).
Appears in the History of Bitcoin Collector’s Book and interactive timeline.
https://blossom.primal.net/e7029daae59a21ac0c65174a678def00cbdb57c00d02f283cee1ff8a7063a380.mp4
