He was trying to create something out of nothing and pass it off as better than everything. What did he think would happen if he succeeded?
Bitcoin didn't fall out of a COCONUT!!
Everything exists within a context.
The wise words of Kamala Harris.
but it's true
back then online payments DID NOT EXIST. Online credit card processing was not where it is today, it was practically non-existant.
Paypal SUCKED D*/K and it had a monopoly.
An alternative WAS NEEDED. People had their accounts closed. Wikileaks had their PayPal account closed. So people flocked to alternatives. There was Liberty Reserve and Bitcoin.
Liberty Reserve operated offshore from Costa Rica with no licenses, similar to how stablecoins do these days and they ended up getting shut down, all money confiscated, operators sent to jail for 20 years.
Bitcoin couldn't be shut down.
It had merit back then.
It was a good idea and drug dealers were the early adopters as you could buy high quality drugs over the internet and have them delivered to your doors by a federal post service.
And from there the scam developed. It'a scam-infested industry. I think it's the biggest grift that has ever existed, but what do i know!