Bitcoin 17 years: Satoshi Nakamoto’s dream, Trump’s chess

Nakamoto 2025-11-3 15:10 5966人围观 BTC

A nine-page white paper, seventeen years of financial subversion. Bitcoin is changing from a toy for cryptography geeks to a bargaining chip for Wall Street bosses, and has become a secret weapon for the United States to consolidate its financial hegemony

Nine-page white paper, seventeen years of financial disruption. Bitcoin is changing from a toy for cryptography geeks to a bargaining chip for Wall Street bosses, and has become a secret weapon for the United States to consolidate its financial hegemony.

On October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto released "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" on the cryptography mailing list. This nine-page white paper bluntly pointed out the weaknesses of the traditional financial system at the beginning: "Internet commerce almost completely relies on financial institutions as trusted third parties to process electronic payments."

Seventeen years later, Bitcoin has evolved from a theoretical idea into a global financial force with a market value of over US$3.2 trillion. In 2024, the price of Bitcoin rose 120% throughout the year to US$98,000, once hitting a record high of US$106,000.

01 The revolutionary vision of the white paper

Satoshi's design was simple yet profound: create a purely peer-to-peer electronic cash system that would enable online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.

Although digital signatures provide a partial solution, preventing "double spending" still requires a trusted third party. The solution proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto was to use a peer-to-peer network to embed transaction timestamps in a proof-of-work based chain.

This innovation makes a transaction impossible to change once it is recorded, since modifying it would require redoing the proof of work for all subsequent blocks.

“The democratization concept of “one CPU, one vote” is the core of Bitcoin. As long as honest nodes control most of the CPU computing power, they can generate the longest chain faster than attackers.

02 The long journey from fringe to mainstream

The early development of Bitcoin was full of twists and turns. In May 2010, an American programmer exchanged 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas, completing the first physical transaction of Bitcoin.

In 2011, the MT.Gox website, which hosted more than 70% of Bitcoin transactions, was hacked and the price of Bitcoin fell from US$17.51 to US$0.01.

Regulatory attitude is a key variable in the development of Bitcoin. In December 2013, the People's Bank of China issued a notice prohibiting Chinese banks and payment institutions from directly or indirectly participating in Bitcoin exchange transactions.

The turning point will occur in 2023. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Bitcoin spot ETF, opening the door for traditional capital to enter the Bitcoin market. By June 2025, the total assets of Bitcoin ETFs have exceeded US$127.9 billion.

03 A major shift in U.S. crypto-asset strategy

After the Trump administration came to power, the attitude towards crypto assets has undergone a 180-degree turn.

On January 23, 2025, Trump signed the executive order "Strengthening U.S. Leadership in Digital Fintech" and established the inter-agency "President's Digital Asset Market Working Group", requiring the formulation of a federal-level digital asset regulatory framework within 180 days.

On March 6, Trump further signed an executive order, announcing the establishment of a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and a “U.S. Digital Asset Reserve.”

There are multiple considerations behind this policy change:

The Trump family’s financial interests in crypto assets are growing ever larger
Cryptoasset Industry Raises Over $245 Million to Support Pro-Crypto Industry Politicians in 2024 Elections
A large share of young voters own or care about crypto assets

04 USD Stablecoin: “Dollarization in Digital Form””

Stablecoins have become a major force in the crypto-asset space. As of May 2025, the total stablecoin supply reached $234.9 billion, of which USDT was $150.8 billion and USDC was $59.4 billion.

The US dollar stable currency is pegged to the US dollar at 1:1 and corresponds to 100% of US dollar asset reserves. This makes digital currencies that once appeared to challenge the image of the U.S. dollar possible to help stabilize the status of the U.S. dollar.

USD stablecoins are driving a new type of “dollarization” around the world. In regions such as Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, a large number of residents hold and use U.S. dollar stablecoins to avoid the risks of economic instability and currency depreciation in their countries.

This digital “dollarization” further enhances the international status of the U.S. dollar, but may also erode the monetary sovereignty of other countries.

05 Reconstruction of the global regulatory landscape

The regulatory stance of various economies around the world on crypto-assets can be divided into three categories: prohibited, open and regulated.

The European Union is at the forefront and promulgated the Crypto-Asset Market Regulation Act (MiCA) in April 2023. This is the most comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto-assets to date and will officially take effect in December 2024.

The UK plans to follow the EU and launch a comprehensive regulatory framework specifically for crypto-assets in 2026.

International financial centers such as Singapore and Japan actively promote the development of crypto assets and hope to become a global crypto asset center. The Hong Kong SAR has also established a cryptocurrency service provider licensing system and is considering implementing a tax-free policy for crypto asset income.

06 The conflict between Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision and the evolution of reality

The actual development path of Bitcoin has deviated somewhat from Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision.

The white paper describes a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, but today Bitcoin is viewed more as “digital gold” and a store of value than as an everyday payment tool.

Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned a disintermediated system, but today most users access Bitcoin through centralized exchanges and ETF issuers.

But Bitcoin’s core value proposition remains: it remains transparent, neutral, and censorship-resistant. Every transaction is recorded on the public blockchain, and the total upper limit of 21 million coins is fixed by code.

In the future, the United States may pass the "21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act" to further refine the regulatory framework by dividing digital assets into three categories: restricted digital assets, digital commodities, and licensed payment stablecoins.

China also needs to carry out forward-looking research, should have the necessary technology and capability reserves, and can select some asset tokenization scenarios that adapt to China's national conditions to focus on promoting them based on the needs of high-quality financial development and financial services for the real economy.

Satoshi Nakamoto may not have imagined that the Bitcoin he invented was being used by the United States to consolidate the hegemony of the US dollar. But this is the realistic path of technological evolution - the initial idealistic vision always finds room for survival and development in the complex real world.