The cryptocurrency market is celebrating a landmark date today — the 16th anniversary of the most famous and uncompromising quote in the history of digital assets, addressed to doubters.
On July 29, 2010, Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was taking part in a discussion on the Bitcointalk forum in a thread titled “Scalability and transaction rate.” One user argued that Bitcoin was too slow for real-life use: confirming a transfer required a 10-minute wait, while a regular bank card worked instantly in a store.
In response, Satoshi explained in detail how the network could process fast payments — literally within 10 seconds or less — through the integration of third-party processors.
Realizing that his opponent remained skeptical and continued to think within the framework of traditional banking, Satoshi ended the debate with a phrase that would go down in history:
“If you don’t believe me or don’t get it, I don’t have time to try to convince you, sorry.”
How a 2010 forum debate shaped a trillion-dollar market
In 2010, when Satoshi addressed these words to skeptics, Bitcoin was worth around $0.07, and the entire network was supported by only a few hundred enthusiasts. The creator of the first cryptocurrency had to personally defend the viability of his code in forum comments.
By 2026, time had definitively settled that debate. Bitcoin no longer needs to be defended from critics — it has become a legal exchange-traded asset recognized by governments and the world’s largest financial institutions, including BlackRock and Morgan Stanley.
The cryptocurrency market is now valued in the trillions of dollars, while Bitcoin, after reaching an all-time high above $126,000 last year, remains firmly positioned near $64,300.
Satoshi’s quote proved the main point: true innovations do not waste time trying to convince skeptics — they simply change the world around them.