Amir Taaki received international recognition in 2014 when he earned a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his contributions to the Bitcoin project. An Esperantist and programmer based in London, his career has spanned professional poker, hacktivism, and military service in Syrian Kurdistan, reflecting a consistent commitment to decentralised systems and anarchist political philosophy.
Early Development and Software Beginnings
Born in London on 6 February 1988 to a Scottish-English mother and an Iranian property developer father, Taaki spent his childhood in Kent. He taught himself computer programming during his youth before briefly enrolling at two British universities. His early professional efforts focused on the free software movement, most notably through his work on SDL Collide, an extension for the Simple DirectMedia Layer library frequently utilized by developers in the video game industry.
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After working as a professional poker player from 2009 to 2010, Taaki leveraged his experience with online gambling to enter the Bitcoin space. He became a primary developer for the cryptocurrency and founded Britcoin, the first exchange for the currency in the United Kingdom. This was succeeded in 2011 by Intersango, an exchange where he acted as a principal developer. In 2012, he hosted the inaugural Bitcoin conference in London.
Decentralization and Activism
Taaki shifted his focus toward privacy-focused software, partnering with Cody Wilson in 2014 to launch Dark Wallet following a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo that surpassed $50,000. During a hackathon in Toronto that same year, he collaborated with developers from Airbitz to create a prototype for a decentralized marketplace known as DarkMarket, which later evolved into the OpenBazaar project. While living in a London anarchist squat in 2013, he continued to refine his approach to digital anonymity.
Rojava and Political Projects
Inspired by the Rojava revolution, Taaki traveled to Syrian Kurdistan in 2015. Despite lacking formal military training, he spent three and a half months serving with the YPG military on the front lines. Following his discharge, he contributed to civil society projects for the economics committee of Rojava. In 2018, he moved to Catalonia to apply blockchain technology to support the regional independence movement. More recently, Politico reported in 2023 that he was developing DarkFi, a project intended to facilitate the anonymous distribution of funds for organizations. He also appeared in the 2024 documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, where he contested the film's identification of Peter Todd as the creator of Bitcoin.
Fast facts
- Born: 6 February 1988, London
- Citizenship: United Kingdom, Iran
- Notable Recognition: Forbes 30 Under 30 (2014)
- Professional Poker Years: 2009-2010
- Military Service: YPG (Syrian Kurdistan)
Questions readers ask
What is DarkFi?
DarkFi is an anarchist project designed to enable organizations to collectively raise and distribute money in complete secrecy.
Did Amir Taaki serve in the military?
Yes, he served for three and a half months in the YPG military in Syrian Kurdistan starting in 2015.
Achievements
- Worked as programmer, Esperantist and computer scientist
