The pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto describes the legendary inventor of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. It is not known whether this is an individual or a collective. In October 2008, Satoshi published the white paper on Bitcoin and the first block was mined the following January.
Many cryptocurrency followers believe that Satoshi Bitcoin was created and bequeathed to the world after successful implementations. Others think it was an individual who has since passed away. This would definitely be a good reason why the original wallet remains untouched to this day.
Satoshi Nakamoto is one of the richest people in the world
It cannot be said exactly how many Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto owns. It can be assumed that it is between 750,000 and one million Coins. This fact would make the person behind Bitcoin one of the richest people on the planet. Due to the strong fluctuations, it makes little sense to name an exact amount at this point, but a place in the Forbes Top 20 list is definitely within reach.
The fact that it is still not known who Satoshi Nakamoto is can be seen as part of the cryptocurrency's success. However, the technical occurrences, such as the blockchain behind it and the proof of work, are of course the basis of the most successful cryptocurrency. The mystery surrounding Satoshi nevertheless undoubtedly helped to make Bitcoin what it is today.
Who could Satoshi Nakamoto be now?
In recent years, different people have claimed the invention. Some have also been credited with it without being asked:
Dorian Nakamoto
The news magazine Newsweek claimed in March 2014 that the Californian Dorian Nakamoto was behind the invention of Bitcoin. This person is a then 65-year-old man from the IT industry, who to this day denies the identity as well as any connection with the cryptocurrency. Objectively, it seems unlikely that Satoshi Nakamoto would have used his actual family name as a pseudonym.
Craig Steven Wright
Unlike Dorian, Craig Steven Wright presented himself as the inventor of Bitcoin. A year earlier, however, Wired magazine suspected Wirght of being behind the pseudonym. In May 2016, the latter then commented on this and confirmed the suspicion.
As proof, Wright created a signature that could only be generated by Satoshi Nakamoto's private key. However, it later turned out that the signature was merely copied from the year 2009 and thus not newly generated.
Evidence has also been presented in WikiLeaks proving that Wright falsified documents related to the identity surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto.
Craig Steven Wright has also claimed that a Bitcoin wallet with 160,000 Bitcoin belongs to him. In May 2019, however, a message was published that rules this out with a high degree of probability: "This Address Does Not Belong to Satoshi or Craig Wright".
The facts cited show very clearly that Craig Steven Wright can be ruled out as the inventor of Bitcoin with a high degree of probability. The centralization and exploitation of the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the media seems inconclusive in itself.
Hal Finney
Hal Finney is known as the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction. It can be assumed that he was at least involved in the development of the most famous cryptocurrencies. In the past, it was often speculated that he was Satoshi Nakamoto. However, there is no confirmation of this.
Other contestants
According to Wikipedia, other candidates were suspected as potential inventors of Bitcoin:
- Vili Lehdonvirta (Economic Sociologist)
- Michael Clear (Student, Trinity College)
- Ross Ulbricht (Founder of Silk Road)
- Cyrano Jones
- Paul Le Roux
- Gavin Andresen
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