There is nothing more curiosity-invoking than not knowing who hides behind the moniker of Satoshi Nakamoto, the man who supposedly invented Bitcoin. One could argue this is one of the greatest mysteries of our times.
In today’s piece, we’ll lay it all out on the table about what’s known about the mysterious man as well as give you a brief history lesson on the elusive pseudonym’s first known appearance. Stay with us until the end, and we’ll even reveal some real-life individuals who are suspected of being the true identity of this man (or woman).
The mysterious origins of the Bitcoin’s creator
Is Satoshi Nakamoto the one who really created the Bitcoin? Let’s take a look. The first mention of Satoshi Nakamoto dates back to 2008. For three consecutive years, not much has surfaced around his name, but fast forward to 2011, and he made an appearance once again.
This time around, it was a tweet sent to another Bitcoin developer in which he claimed to have moved on to different things, resting assured that Bitcoin had been placed in good hands. Nothing has been heard from him since.
The idea behind Bitcoin
Nakamoto envisioned Bitcoin to be a revolutionary decentralized digital cryptocurrency that allows for secure peer-to-peer transactions without the intervention of banks or traditional financial institutions. In the official white paper, he went on to explain the technical details of how it all works, demystifying the magic of blockchain technology upon which all the cryptocurrencies stand.
The grand idea? To put the power back into ordinary people’s hands and loosen the tight grip of financial behemoths.
Nakamoto’s hoarded riches
Bitcoin’s value keeps growing at a steady pace. It is estimated that Satoshi Nakamoto has kept a hefty slice of the pie to himself, which is roughly 5% of its entire market cap. That’s about tens of billions of dollars in riches. Imagine what would happen if he decided to cash out – in a moment, a good chunk of Bitcoin’s value would sink.
Nakamoto’s right-hand man
For years, Gavin Andresen has served as Nakamoto’s right-hand man and the main maintainer of Bitcoin’s code. However, just like Nakamoto himself, he, too, decided to pursue a more reclusive lifestyle, meaning he is no longer as involved in the project as he used to be.
The man behind the curtain
But who, assuming Satoshi Nakamoto is not a made up entity, is the main guy behind the curtain who’s running the show?
The short answer is, no one knows for sure. However, over the course of time, many potential suspects have sprung up, with each of them being a unique, and sometimes a downright hilarious story.
The world is dying to uncover Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity.
Source: Pixabay.com
Suspect #1: Dorian S. Nakamoto
In the year of 2014, a news story was published, claiming to have narrowed down the search to one Asian man in his 70s; namely, Mr. Dorian S. Nakamoto. The suspicion arose due to his background in engineering and a life shrouded in privacy, and, of course, his name that almost looks too obvious to be related in any way (his birth name happened to be Satoshi Nakamoto).
Following the pressure in the media, he released a statement in which he claimed not to have any connection with Bitcoin (or its development) whatsoever. Merely a day later, a forum post was made by someone carrying Satoshi Nakamoto’s username, claiming “I am not Dorian Nakamoto”.
And that pretty much ended it right there and then.
Suspect #2: Craig Wright
In 2016, someone came out claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, and it was none other than Craig Wright, an entrepreneur from Australia. Due to presenting a piece of code as proof and Gavin Andresen himself saying he was 98% sure the man was, in fact, the real deal, it’s no surprise that Craig Wright managed to steal the spotlight.
The rest of the crypto community, however, was not so certain. At some point, allegedly, even the FBI got involved, and Wright eventually caved under pressure. This led him to paddle back on his claims, ultimately saying he did not have the course to step into the light and leave his days of anonymity behind.
Whether there ever was an ounce of truth behind his words, remains anyone’s guess.
Suspect #3: Nick Szabo
The final suspect for today is Nick Szabo. Not only is he a cryptocurrency expert, it’s also a known fact that he was involved in the development of Bitcoin. Even in the 90s, long before Bitcoin’s existence, he came up with a similar idea he dubbed “bit gold”.
A group of researchers went on to study Szabo’s writing style and compared it to Nakamoto’s. Out of all the likely candidates they studied, Szabo came out as the closest probable one to be Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity.
Alas, Szabo denied these claims in a tweet, all while thanking them for the compliment.
Conclusion
To this very day, Satoshi Nakamoto remains an anonymous entity and one of the most controversial mysteries of the modern day. Due to the chaos that would ensue by stepping out of the shadows, this is how things are likely to remain.
Source: Plato Data Intelligence
