Community website Bitcoin.org received a donation of 14 Bitcoin ($120,000) on Monday to go towards general upkeep of the site. This is the biggest donation the site has ever received, according to one of Bitcoin.org’s co-owners.
Bitcoin.org was originally set up by Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin, and Martti Malmi, one of the first developers who helped to build it. The site is now an independent, open-source project and members of the Bitcoin community can help to keep it updated.
The site is now owned by Michael Marquardt—known as “Theymos” in crypto circles—and a pseudonymous individual called “Cobra,” who owns the popular forum Bitcointalk and describes himself as an anarchist.
“It’s the biggest donation we’ve received,” Cobra said. “Normally we receive very small donations (below $100) and the occasional donation above $1,000. Once we received a $40,000 donation but this recent one blows everything out of the water.”
He added that the money will go toward translating the Bitcoin whitepaper into more languages, offering new content and creating a new introductory video. In addition, it will keep the site running in terms of server costs and general maintenance.
But who sent the large donation?
A bitcoin guardian angel? Satoshi Nakamoto himself? Who knows.
“We have no idea who sent it,” said Cobra. “It’s likely it was an early adopter who wanted to see to it that Bitcoin.org was well-funded and could continue to educate people.”