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Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity has been an obsession for crypto enthusiasts since the Genesis block. Nonetheless, the pseudonymous cypherpunk has kept his(?) identity a complete mystery for over 15 years.
Only one thing is certain about Nakamoto: He is the creator of bitcoin.
Without a doubt, Nakamoto changed the world forever; many consider his creation a literal miracle. He single-handedly revolutionized finance by conceiving a decentralized form of internet value. The vision for this invention is the foundation for the entire blockchain industry.
Wallets linked to Nakamoto contain somewhere between 750,000 and 1,100,000 bitcoin. According to current valuations, his net worth is somewhere around $73 billion making him about the 15th-richest person in the world.
Despite the tremendous fame and wealth of Satoshi Nakamoto, his identity remains one of the greatest mysteries of the 21st century.
This article will discuss what little is known about the creator of bitcoin and survey prominent theories about his possible identity. It will close with a discussion of Nakamoto as more than a person and focus on what he means to bitcoin conceptually.
Conceiving Bitcoin
Nakamoto did not drop bitcoin from the heavens, never to be heard from again; he was an active participant in the early community and many cryptography spaces. Much of what we know about his vision and work on bitcoin comes from his email and forum correspondences with the metzdowd.com mailing list and the P2P foundation website.
According to these messages, he started working on bitcoin early in 2007 and indicated some desire to solve fundamental problems with banking, seemingly prompted by the 2007/2008 financial crashes.
The biggest issue he saw with digital currency was the so-called “double-spend” issue, the unauthorized production and spending of money, and he proposed bitcoin’s peer-to-peer distributed timestamp server as a potential solution.
Satoshi Nakamoto did not invent blockchains or cryptocurrency. It was his novel decentralized approach to blockchains that was so groundbreaking. This involved using ledgers, Merkle trees, timestamps, incentives, cryptography, and a consensus mechanism that solved the double-spending problem, finally making digital money possible.
Personal Details
Although he communicated with a variety of people online from 2007 to 2010 and logged hundreds of messages, Nakamoto always remained anonymous. That said, details of his online footprint have left plenty of room for speculation.
First off, given the nature of the original code for bitcoin, it’s obvious that Nakamoto was professionally skilled and acquainted with cutting-edge cryptography and programming. In fact, many have exclaimed that the code for bitcoin is so perfect that Satoshi Nakamoto is either a genius or a pseudonym for a team of people.
The only personal information detailed by Nakamoto himself is on his P2P Foundation account, where much of his forum correspondence took place. The account says he is “a 37-year-old man who lives in Japan,” and his profile claimed his birthday to be April 5th, 1975. Many, however, have pointed out that his native use of British English and his references to “London Times” point to a person of commonwealth origin.
This is about all the personal information discovered about Satoshi Nakamoto. His communication with the bitcoin community mysteriously ended in 2010, with his final message saying that he had “moved on to other things.”
Possible Identities
There have been countless guesses about Nakamoto’s true identity. Here are some of the most prominent ones.
Hal Finney
The most popular and widely accepted “best guess” to Nakamoto’s identity is Hal Finney.
Hal was a renowned computer science genius and the recipient of the first sent bitcoin. Hal has been the most popular candidate for the title of bitcoin creator since the beginning of widespread internet inquiry. To much disappointment, he was aware of the rumors and consistently denied being Satoshi Nakamoto up until his death in 2014.
Hal’s expertise in cryptography and close involvement with bitcoin’s early development have kept his name in most people’s mouths speculating about Nakamoto’s identity. His way of writing, British origin, and the fact that his neighbor’s name was Dorian Nakamoto have all been used as additional fuel for the fire. Further, Hal became immobile due to Lou Gehrig’s disease and stopped contributing to the internet the day Nakamoto posted his last message.
However, one major thorn in this theory is that Hal Finney was competing in a 10-mile race when Satoshi Nakamoto responded to emails and transacted on bitcoin, newly surfaced evidence reveals.
Nick Szabo
Nick Szabo was a computer scientist and cryptographer known for his work on digital contracts and for creating “bit gold,” a precursor to bitcoin that shares many similarities. His deep understanding of the concepts underlying bitcoin is the primary source of weight behind this theory.
Looser evidence is simply that Hal Finney and Nick were friends. Hal was the first recipient of Szabo’s now famous 1998 private email list called “Libtech,” where Szabo released bit gold. This could explain why Hal Finny was the first bitcoin user; they even collaborated on developing bit gold.
Hal Finney lived close to Dorian Nakamoto, went to the same high school, and seemed well acquainted. Given that Nick Szabo lived in the same state as both men and was friends with Finney, this could be a connection enough for Szabo to use the name.
Despite the enthusiasm drummed up online, Szabo has repeatedly denied being Nakamoto. Szabo is alive and well, continuing to take part in the bitcoin ecosystem and touring industry conferences.
Craig Wright
Australian computer scientist Craig Wright is the most infamous claimant to the name of Satoshi Nakamoto.
Wright has been publicly in court and in the media, claiming to have invented bitcoin. Wright presented what he purported to be cryptographic proof of his identity, but the broader cryptocurrency community quickly dismissed his evidence as fraudulent.
Despite his media presence and numerous attempts, Wright has never been able to provide conclusive documentation that he is the real Nakamoto. Almost all bitcoin enthusiasts view his assertions with skepticism and disgust.
A Group
Another theory is that Satoshi Nakamoto is not an individual but rather a group of people working together under a shared pseudonym. Two main arguments support the idea that Nakamoto could be a group.
Multidisciplinary Expertise: The design of bitcoin’s consensus mechanism, cryptographic elements, economic incentives, and peer-to-peer network all required specialized knowledge. It’s more plausible that a group of experts with different backgrounds came together to create bitcoin than a single person mastering all these domains.
Timing And Activity Patterns: Observers have noted that Nakamoto’s activity patterns (posting messages, developing code, and responding to emails) suggest that the workload was shared among several individuals. The timing of messages and code updates shows a pattern that would be difficult for a single person to maintain, suggesting that the work was divided among a group to ensure continuous development and communication.
Satoshi Nakamoto As A Concept
Beyond the endless quest to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity lies a more philosophical inquiry: What does Satoshi Nakamoto mean to bitcoin? Satoshi is not merely a person but a symbol of the core principles underlying bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency movement. Nakamoto embodies the ideals of decentralization, anonymity, and resistance to centralized financial control.
His commitment to these principles is underscored by the decision to remain anonymous despite the monumental success of bitcoin. Nakamoto’s vision for bitcoin was to create a system that functioned independently of any single person or entity, a truly decentralized network. Nakamoto’s decision to step back from the limelight has ensured that bitcoin remains a decentralized and resilient system, which continues to thrive and evolve without the direct influence of its creator.
In many ways, the mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto has added to bitcoin’s allure, capturing the imaginations of people worldwide and ensuring that the principles of decentralization and trustless systems continue to gain traction. Ultimately, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto may not matter; what is important is the revolutionary idea that he brought to life.
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