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Topic: Supreme Court Judge calls Bitcoin the Adam/ Manu of Cryptocurrencies (Read 202 times)

legendary
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Manu was created though, as Bitcoin was by Satoshi, is what I meant by wondering if Bitcoin is Manu, then is Satoshi a god or merely creator preceded by other gods?

Pointless argument of course, but I always find it interesting how Hinduism creeps even into litigation in India (as does Confucius in Chinese litigation) and in my part of the world, as does Islam. Interesting also how none of them view it as strange;)

You know in Nightfall, Asimov also writes about the rise and fall of man, civilisation and technology in self-destructive cycles that lose all memory of the past cycle as soon as they attain the highest form of knowledge.

Bitcoin could have been preceded in past such cycles, where other solutions were found for the Byzantine General's problem;)
legendary
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Glad that you liked it..
Hinduism calls the time of a universe's creation and dissolution as "Kalpa". Each of these is divided into 14 "Manvantaras" which is reigned over by 14 Manus succesively. This "Manu" thus, is not alone but every Manu starts his reign and it ends with a deluge after (4.32 billion/ 14) years. The timelines in Hinduism are basically mind boggling.

Manu is not a God. He is just the first man and the giver of rules. That way, Satoshi is nearer to man than God..Smiley In other descriptions of Hinduism, Manu has also been derided for a lot of patriarchal advice..Though i don't blame him. You cannot expect feminism from a man born after a flood trying to stitch up a civilization..LOL
Here's where it might be different since Satoshi might be female (we don't know that). Moreover, I believe that calling Bitcoin 'Adam' and calling Satoshi 'Adam' seems to be a big difference. I agree that Bitcoin is like the Adam of cryptocurrencies. Although I got to say that those cryptos based on DAG technology are almost like the Vulcans (Star Trek) compared with humans, so to speak, because the difference is very significant IMO.
Anyway, it's great news that the ban is lifted and that Bitcoin received special recognition because there're some that make less appealing comparisons of Bitcoin with the first cars or web browsers.
legendary
Activity: 1904
Merit: 1159
Thanks for the curious bit of legal news, OP. Met quite a few Manus in my life, had no idea then it was the Hindu equivalent of Adam.

Crypto progenitor, for sure, though others might argue, just looking at Bitcoin wiki itself, that Bitcoin too had its own ancestors, talking about currencies based on cryptographic algorithms.

Also begs the question, do you believe in God the creator and does this make Satoshi the pseudonymous God of the crypto race? Wink
Glad that you liked it..
Hinduism calls the time of a universe's creation and dissolution as "Kalpa". Each of these is divided into 14 "Manvantaras" which is reigned over by 14 Manus succesively. This "Manu" thus, is not alone but every Manu starts his reign and it ends with a deluge after (4.32 billion/ 14) years. The timelines in Hinduism are basically mind boggling.

Manu is not a God. He is just the first man and the giver of rules. That way, Satoshi is nearer to man than God..Smiley In other descriptions of Hinduism, Manu has also been derided for a lot of patriarchal advice..Though i don't blame him. You cannot expect feminism from a man born after a flood trying to stitch up a civilization..LOL
legendary
Activity: 3010
Merit: 3724
Join the world-leading crypto sportsbook NOW!
Thanks for the curious bit of legal news, OP. Met quite a few Manus in my life, had no idea then it was the Hindu equivalent of Adam.

Crypto progenitor, for sure, though others might argue, just looking at Bitcoin wiki itself, that Bitcoin too had its own ancestors, talking about currencies based on cryptographic algorithms.

Also begs the question, do you believe in God the creator and does this make Satoshi the pseudonymous God of the crypto race? Wink
legendary
Activity: 2576
Merit: 1860
I am amazed at the judge for having made a considerably wide and deep research in order to come up with a brilliant decision favoring the legalization of Bitcoin. I cannot tell whether the judge has already been reading or getting himself/herself familiar with Bitcoin and crypto before this case was delivered to his/her desk, but the mention of Cyberphunks, Wei Dai, Hal Finney, Martti Malmi, Adam Back, and other historical personalities who somehow contributed a thing or two to the the realization of a decentralized currency in Bitcoin is simply amazing. The 180-page decision was so rich in information.
legendary
Activity: 1904
Merit: 1159
This is so cool. The judge in his judgement called Bitcoin the "Adam of cryptocurrencies"..Smiley The backdrop is that the Supreme Court of India heard a case from Pro-bitcoin activists against the blanket ban issued by India's central bank. The judgement has just been uploaded on the official website: Supreme court of India judgement in Writ Petition number 373 and 528 of 2018.

Starting at page 28 of the judgement, the judge V. Subramaniam gives a brilliant description in his words of the history of online cash and bitcoin garnered from online resources and the whitepaper. He finishes with an epic line:

Quote
it is beyond any pale of doubt that irrespective of the metamorphosis (or gene mutation) it has undergone over the years, bitcoin, the Adam or Manu of the race of cryptocurrencies, was developed as an alternative to fiat currency

Everybody interested in bitcoin must read those pages from Page 28 to Page 32. If you have a passing interest in Indology, you will love the references made by the learned judge. I am reproducing some parts of the text here:


  • Quote
    The archeological excavations carried out at the (world wide web) sites, reveal that this digital currency civilization is just 12 years old (at the most, 37 years). But these excavations became necessary since virtual currencies, known by different names such as crypto assets, crypto currencies, digital assets, electronic currency, digital currency etc., elude an exact and precise definition, making it impossible to identify them as belonging either to the category of legal tender solely or to the category of commodity/good or stock solely.
  • Quote
    Any attempt to define what a virtual currency is, it appears, should follow the Vedic analysis of negation namely “neti, neti”. Avadhuta Gita of Dattatreya says, “by such sentences as ‘that thou are’, our own self or that which is untrue and composed of the 5 elements, is affirmed, but the sruti says ‘not this not that’.” The concept of Neti Neti is an expression of something inexpressible, but which seeks to capture the essence of that to which no other definition applies.
  • Quote
    That Satoshi and the Cypherpunks who participated in the initial experiments developed Bitcoin as an alternative to conventional currency, to counter the problems of debasement of currency by central agencies, was made clear by Satoshi himself when he said: “The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work. The Central Bank must be trusted not to debase the currency but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.”

Those 4 pages provide a brilliant recap in the words of a judge for whom this was probably the first exposure to these ideas of a cypherpunk. Some really great information too in there about everyone starting from Hal to Adam Back.

PS: Manu, in Hinduism refers to "the first man" or "progenitor of humanity", similar to Adam from Genesis.
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