Share this article
Cryptography Pioneer Nick Szabo Touts Blockchain Tech’s Security
Smart contracts pioneer Nick Szabo spoke today at a developer conference for developers working on the public Ethereum blockchain.
Updated Sep 29, 2023, 11:57 a.m. Published Nov 13, 2015, 3:00 p.m.
Smart contracts pioneer Nick Szabo has lauded the security benefits of decentralised monetary systems built using blockchain technology.
Speaking at Ethereum's DEVCON1 conference, held in London today, Szabo – often rumored to be the creator of bitcoin – gave an overview of the blockchain's history and highlighted the security inefficiencies of centralised systems typically used by traditional finance institutions.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Centralisation is insecure, said Szabo, before noting mainstream finance's reliance on government and law enforcement officials for security:
"This is one of the reasons why [traditional finance] is stuck and highly regulated."
Szabo also reflected on early decentralisation attempts and digital cash proposals commenting on how these had failed due to a lack of expertise and knowledge.
"There are a bunch of digital cash startups which either failed or became centralised systems like PayPal," he added.
During his session, Szabo urged the audience to think about security more broadly. "Let's try to secure everything, protect everything that is important to us as much as we can."
Organized by the Ethereum Foundation, a nonprofit that oversees development funding for work on the public blockchain, and ΞTHÐΞV, which conducts research that aims to further the underlying goals of the Ethereum network, DEVCON1 is a five-day developer conference aimed at promoting the project's work and larger vision.
Image via CoinDesk
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Japan’s Higher Rates Puts Bitcoin in the Crosshairs of a Yen Carry Unwind
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten liquidity conditions that recently helped bitcoin rebound from November’s lows.
What to know:
- The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% at its December meeting, the highest since 1995, affecting global markets including cryptocurrencies.
- A stronger yen could lead to de-risking in macro portfolios, impacting liquidity conditions that have supported bitcoin's recent recovery.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a high probability of a rate hike, with officials prepared for further tightening if their economic outlook supports it.
Top Stories
