Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
One of the most enduring mysteries that travels through the BTC arena is its founder and author of the 2008 whitepaper, Satoshi Nakamoto. The whitepaper was a groundbreaking piece of work that flipped the financial world on its head bringing with it the revolutionary invention and the database underpinning Bitcoin, the Blockchain. This was the start of the “Currency Revolution” as we knew it. Little is known about the mastermind behind the Bitcoin system and the last citing or hearing from him was in 2011, just 2 years after the notorious whitepaper came into existence. Nevertheless, Satoshi is and will remain important to the Bitcoin ecosystem beyond his status as the founder.
Despite an exceptionally detailed whitepaper and numerous attempts to uncover his identity, Satoshi Nakamoto has proven elusive. Several individuals have had their claim to fame but none have been verified and thus, the burning question of who Satoshi Nakamoto is remains a mystery.
Faketoshi: Unmasking the Creator of BTC
There is a lot we don’t know about Nakamoto. Is the BTC creator a man or woman? Does the infamous name represent a single individual or a group of developers? Where in the world is Satoshi from? Although the name is of Japanese origin, several people have identified as likely candidates from all over the world, but to this day the search continues.
The investigation has included the use of linguistic analysts in addition to several media outlets coming forward claiming that they know who the real Satoshi is. The first claim to fame and perhaps the most high-profile attempt in revealing Bitcoin’s founder is Dorian Nakamoto.
In 2014 Newsweek became the first mainstream publication to try to reveal the identity of BTC’s creator and it caused a stir in the crypto and wider tech community. Setting aside the fact that two had the same surname, the media publication cited several similarities between both Satoshi Nakamoto & Dorian Nakamoto. Despite Dorian claiming he was no longer involved in bitcoin and that he had turned it over to other people he later took part in a face-to-face interview where he denied the claim, saying he misunderstood the question he was asked about the cryptocurrency. He later told the Associated Press that he had nothing got to do with Bitcoin. It has also been asserted that the late cryptographic pioneer Hal Finney has links to the creation of the cryptocurrency. Finney lived next door to Dorian Nakamoto, but he has since been crossed off the list in the quest to expose the unknown.
The 3rd in the list of suspects was computer engineer Nick Szabo. Skye Grey a researcher who dug deep into findings of the Bitcoin whitepaper and found unusual turns of phrase, which he then compared to the works of established cryptographers. From his findings, he cited some similarities with the work of Szabo who in 2005 conceptualized the decentralized currency, BitGold – a precursor to Bitcoin. However, Szabo denies all claims that he is the face behind the perplexing identity.
Other sensational theories to make a splash include business magnate and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, but this was met with a steadfast denial. We have even heard claims from cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee that he knows the answer, but of course, will not reveal it.
Has the Bitcoin Creator been Found?
Whereas many of the alleged suspects in the case to “unmask Satoshi” have denied the claims or remained silent, there is one man who claims to be the brain behind the operation – Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright.
Wright has long claimed that he is in fact the sole creator of Bitcoin, even making attempts to file for authorship of the renowned whitepaper. In 2015 there was a profile written up on Wright with claims that they had obtained the strongest evidence yet. This piece was supported with documentation suggesting that Satoshi Nakamoto was a pseudonym used by Craig Wright and David Kleiman. However, the claims were soon thrown into doubt and there were inconsistencies found in the Australian scientist’s story. Wright came up against a lot of criticism, which included doubt from crypto mogul and Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, who publicly called him a fraud. Despite the critics and the truth still unknown Wright has continued to carve out a prominence within the crypto community.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes mysteries are so compelling. We may never know the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, but maybe some secrets are better left unearthed. So, for now, we can wait in anticipation for the “big reveal”.