A largely unknown figure, Artforz is nonetheless credited with notable engineering contributions, as they are thought to be the first Bitcoin user to mine with more powerful GPUs (in the process starting the global mining arms race that continues to this day).

Though Artforz denied making up 25% of the early network’s hash rate as accused, it was a rumor during his day, one they eventually had to address directly on the forums.

Still, if Artforz did mine an outsized number of early blocks, he showed himself to be an altruistic steward of the network, identifying a bug in one case that, if exploited, would have allowed him to spend bitcoin from other wallets he didn’t own, reporting it directly to Satoshi.

Artforz could also explain and defend Bitcoin with the best of them. 

When presented with the idea users might never know the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, Artforz settled the conversation succinctly, stating simply: “Let the idea speak for itself.”