{"id":11088,"date":"2023-06-16T13:23:09","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T13:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/?p=11088"},"modified":"2025-09-10T15:21:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T15:21:17","slug":"who-is-martti-malmi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/who-is-martti-malmi","title":{"rendered":"Who is Martti Malmi?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Alternar tabla de contenidos\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/who-is-martti-malmi\/#life_of_martti_malmi\" >Life of Martti Malmi<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/who-is-martti-malmi\/#contributions_to_bitcoin\" >Contributions to Bitcoin<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/who-is-martti-malmi\/#bitcoin_to_fiat_transactions\" >Bitcoin to FIAT transactions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/who-is-martti-malmi\/#the_end_of_martti_in_bitcoin\" >The end of Martti in Bitcoin<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Tiempo de lectura:<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutos<\/span><\/span><p>The world of cryptocurrencies exists thanks to various\u00a0<strong>personalities<\/strong>\u00a0who have contributed their knowledge and work to make it possible. Getting to know these people and their work can help us understand how the crypto ecosystem works and its origins. That is why today we will tell you about\u00a0<strong>Martti Malmi<\/strong>\u00a0and why he is so well known.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Martti Malmi is known for being a\u00a0<strong>developer<\/strong>\u00a0who supported the development of the Bitcoin project from the very beginning. His support was so notorious that he became the person in charge of turning<strong>\u00a0the protocol into a cross-platform protocol<\/strong>. Thanks to his work, the protocol\u2019s<strong>\u00a0wider adoption<\/strong>\u00a0and expansion was possible.<\/p>\n<p>This developer is not as well known as others dedicated to the development of this cryptocurrency, however, he is no less important. Martti Malmi is mostly known by the name\u00a0<strong>\u201csirius-m\u201d, his nickname.<\/strong>\u00a0He was one of<strong>\u00a0the early stage developers of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-bitcoin\/\">Bitcoin<\/a><\/strong>. In this post we will take a look at his entire career.<\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"life_of_martti_malmi\"><\/span><b>Life of Martti Malmi<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Martti\u2019s story begins\u00a0<strong>in 1988. At the age of 12<\/strong>\u00a0he started his life as a programmer. His passion for the computer world led him to study<strong>\u00a0software engineering<\/strong>\u00a0at the University of Helsinki (Finland). Linus Torvalds,\u00a0<strong>the creator of the Linux kernel<\/strong>, studied at the same university.<\/p>\n<p>Martti is a very\u00a0<strong>private person<\/strong>, so we do not know many details about<strong>\u00a0his private life<\/strong>. On the other hand, his track record in terms of the Bitcoin project and the contributions he made to the community are in the\u00a0<strong>public domain<\/strong>\u00a0and widely appreciated.<\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"image_1724368131\" class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\">\n<div class=\"img-inner dark\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Qui%C3%A9n-es-Martti-Malmi1.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Qui\u00e9n-es-Martti-Malmi1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Qui\u00e9n-es-Martti-Malmi1-300x205.jpg 300w\" alt=\"Qui\u00e9n-es-Martti-Malmi\" width=\"768\" height=\"526\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Qui\u00e9n-es-Martti-Malmi1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Qui\u00e9n-es-Martti-Malmi1-300x205.jpg 300w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Qui\u00e9n-es-Martti-Malmi1.jpg\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"contributions_to_bitcoin\"><\/span><strong>Contributions to Bitcoin<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Martti\u2019s Bitcoin journey began in\u00a0<strong>2009<\/strong>, in April. Malmi came across a little-known project called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-bitcoin\/\">Bitcoin<\/a>\u00a0on the Internet and decided he wanted to get involved. He contacted\u00a0<strong>the creator of the project<\/strong>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/who-is-satoshi-nakamoto\/\">Satoshi Nakamoto<\/a>) and sent him a\u00a0<strong>message<\/strong>\u00a0that is well known: \u201cI would like to help with Bitcoin if there is anything I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This message marked\u00a0<strong>the beginning of Martti\u2019s Bitcoin work<\/strong>\u00a0and, with his support, Satoshi Nakamoto succeeded in releasing\u00a0<strong>version 2.0 of the Bitcoin project.<\/strong>\u00a0This version brought some of the most notable changes to the system, such as<strong>\u00a0initial support for Linux<\/strong>. This support was necessary, since initially Bitcoin was developed for\u00a0<strong>Windows<\/strong>\u00a0(so we know that Satoshi Nakamoto created the project on this system) but later\u00a0<strong>an update<\/strong>\u00a0was necessary to adapt the project to another system.<\/p>\n<p>Malmi\u2019s participation in the project also meant the creation of\u00a0<strong>the first Bitcoin community forum<\/strong>. This forum later became what we know today as\u00a0<strong>BitcoinTalk<\/strong>, the best-known cryptocurrency forum. Malmi also collaborated in the administration of the\u00a0<strong>Bitcointalk and Bitcoin.org domains.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although Malmi had already been involved in many aspects of Bitcoin\u2019s development up to this point, his track record continues. He helped improve early versions of the Bitcoin software and was one of the\u00a0<strong>first publicly known Bitcoin miners<\/strong>. To get an idea, Malmi managed to mine with a single laptop\u00a0<strong>between 2009 and 2011 a total of 50 thousand BTC.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"bitcoin_to_fiat_transactions\"><\/span><strong>Bitcoin to FIAT transactions<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Martti is not only known for his help to Satoshi Nakamoto, he was also one of the few who managed to mark\u00a0<strong>a milestone in the history of this project.<\/strong>\u00a0Martti was involved in the creation of\u00a0<strong>the first Bitcoin\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-a-cryptocurrency-exchange\/\">exchange<\/a><\/strong>. The platform was developed on October 11, 2009 and adopted the name\u00a0<strong>NewLibertyStandard.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the time of the launch of the exchange Malmi sent no less than\u00a0<strong>5,050 bitcoins<\/strong>\u00a0which were exchanged for the small amount of\u00a0<strong>$5.05<\/strong>. These dollars were sent to him by\u00a0<strong>PayPal<\/strong>. This particular exchange was listed as the first exchange between cryptocurrencies and fiat money in history. It was also the beginning of the\u00a0<strong>exchange platforms<\/strong>\u00a0we use today.<\/p>\n<p>Despite all of Martti\u2019s achievements, he continued to use his knowledge of Bitcoin to start developing what was<strong>\u00a0the first generation of Bitcoin exchanges.<\/strong>\u00a0Of course, Martti already had some\u00a0<strong>Web programming skills<\/strong>. The first of the exchanges was\u00a0<strong>bitcoinexchange.com.<\/strong>\u00a0This exchange was made public in 2010, in March, and as expected, its presentation took place on the\u00a0<strong>BitcoinTalk forum.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Two years later, Martti developed\u00a0<strong>eurobtc.com.<\/strong>\u00a0This exchange was launched in<strong>\u00a0April 2012<\/strong>. It was another Bitcoin exchange that allowed the buying and selling of BTC using<strong>\u00a0SEPA transactions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As we can see, Martti stood out for being a pioneer in the development of exchange houses and businesses capable of a<strong>ccepting Bitcoin as a payment method<\/strong>. His trajectory continues and today he is the owner of the company<strong>\u00a0SC5<\/strong>. This was one of the pioneering companies in the acceptance of Bitcoin as a payment method and the salary of its workers<strong>\u00a0is paid in this currency.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the_end_of_martti_in_bitcoin\"><\/span><strong>The end of Martti in Bitcoin<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite his outstanding contributions to this project, Martti Malmi began<strong>\u00a0to slowly drift away from the community<\/strong>. His departure became more noticeable after the disappearance of\u00a0<strong>Satoshi Nakamoto<\/strong>\u00a0from the project and the arrival of<strong>\u00a0Gavin Andresen<\/strong>. Before leaving, Malmi made a statement explaining his departure:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found the atmosphere less inspiring and exciting than in the early days, when none of Bitcoin\u2019s potential had yet been realized. On the other hand, by then Bitcoin already had many skilled coders who would keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martti\u2019s last move on the\u00a0<strong>BitcoinTalk<\/strong>\u00a0forum took place in\u00a0<strong>2012<\/strong>\u00a0just before he disappeared from the cryptocurrency world for a while. It should be noted that his departure from the project did not mean that he ceased his activity as a developer. Malmi continued to support t<strong>he decentralization of cryptocurrencies<\/strong>\u00a0from the outside.<\/p>\n<p>He continued with other projects and in\u00a0<strong>2013<\/strong>\u00a0he made public the<strong>\u00a0Identifi project.<\/strong>\u00a0This particular project is a fully\u00a0<strong>decentralized<\/strong>\u00a0digital identity and reputation system. Currently this project has a new development to which it is integrated, Iris. Iris is a decentralized communication system.\u00a0<strong>It has a point-to-point encryption and cross-platform capability.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>EAmong the projects Martti subsequently participated in are\u00a0<strong>MONI, Gun<\/strong>, among others. As mentioned above, Martti is currently leading\u00a0<strong>SC5<\/strong>\u00a0and continues to collaborate with the startup\u00a0<strong>Gun.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Tiempo de lectura:<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutos<\/span><\/span>The world of cryptocurrencies exists thanks to various\u00a0personalities\u00a0who have contributed their knowledge and work to make it possible. Getting to know these people and their work can help us understand how the crypto ecosystem works and its origins. That is why today we will tell you about\u00a0Martti Malmi\u00a0and why he is so well known. &nbsp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrencies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11088"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24588,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11088\/revisions\/24588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}