A seasoned Linux open-source contributor by the time he found Bitcoin in 2010, Garzik is known for helping shape project strategy under Andresen, the developer he mentored and encouraged to step up in the wake of Satoshi’s absence.

Yet, Garzik was an active contributor in the days of Satoshi as well, and he remains the author of some of the era’s more often-cited Bitcoin forum posts. Controversially, this includes the first proposal to raise the “block size limit,” first added by Nakamoto, as well as another, more influential proposal to remove subsidies for free transactions. 

Later conflicts aside, a review of Garzik’s posts shows what made him such a strong advocate for Bitcoin, one who was revered for thoughtful articulations on how the early network worked.

In one memorable line, Garzik said: “The effort to raise the transaction rate limit is the same as the effort to change the fundamental nature of bitcoins: convince the vast majority to upgrade.”

Ironically, it would be his efforts to lead such a charge that would mark the end of his time with the Bitcoin project nearly a decade later.