Anyone can create money by broadcasting the solution to a previously unsolved computational problem. … the solution must otherwise have no value, either practical or intellectual.

Source

“b-money”, November 1998, sec. 1 “The creation of money” (abridged); Satoshi cites b-money as the first reference in the whitepaper

Open source · nakamotoinstitute.org ↗

About the author

Cryptographer and creator of b-money, one of the key precursors cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper.

The question on the back

What convinces you more: a promise or proof of work?