Who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the Creator Behind Bitcoin?

It is in our nature to seek the truth behind a mystery and as one of the biggest mysteries of this century, the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto continues to captivate people worldwide. While there is no doubt that it was Nakamoto who created Bitcoin, the true identity behind the pseudonym remains a mystery. Since the disappearance of Nakamoto from the public eye, there has been numerous speculation about a few individuals being suspected as the creator of Bitcoin. In this article, we’ll discuss who Satoshi Nakamoto is, and his potential identities.  

What does the World Know About Satoshi Nakamoto?

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym of the person or group behind the world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. On October 31, 2008, Nakamoto published a white paper under the name “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” The white paper introduced a peer-to-peer network where the transactions are validated and broadcast without the need for central authority. Although the concept of a cryptographically secured chain of blocks (Blockchain) has been around since the early 1990s, it only gained widespread recognition after being practically implemented in Bitcoin. Furthermore, the white paper also solved one of the major issues with digital currency, double-spending, by introducing a consensus mechanism called Proof-of-Work (PoW). 

The first Bitcoin was officially mined on January 3, 2009, by Satoshi Nakamoto, a well-known figure in cryptography even before its development. Furthermore, on January 12, the first ever Bitcoin transaction took place, and Nakamoto sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney, a well-known computer scientist at that time. After a month since the first mining, Nakamoto created an online message board dedicated to cryptocurrencies. In the post, Nakamoto stated, 

I’ve developed a new open source P2P e-cash system called Bitcoin. It’s completely decentralized, with no central server or trusted parties, because everything is based on crypto proof instead of trust. Give it a try, or take a look at the screenshots and design paper.

Now, with the development of the blockchain industry and Bitcoin, the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto has garnered worldwide attention, from governments and crypto enthusiasts to ordinary people. Nakamoto was very active during the initial years of Bitcoin, during which he became a miner and mined Bitcoins. At present, no one can accurately determine how much Bitcoin he has because of the difficulty involved in determining which wallets belong to Nakamoto. However, according to various sources, Nakamoto has at least 1 million Bitcoins in his hands, making him a veritable billionaire and the single largest individual holder of BTC. Some people even suspect that it was because of his enormous holding that Nakamoto wishes to remain anonymous. 

Although most things related to Satoshi Nakamoto remain a mystery, some things are known to be true about the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. Based on the timestamps on his messages and posts during the years he was active and the use of British English in his posts, it’s been assumed that he’s probably from the UK. Satoshi Nakamoto’s last email was in April 2011 to a fellow developer, saying that he’s moved on to other things. His last forum post was in response to an article by Newsweek Magazine in March 2024, which said, “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.”               

Why Did Satoshi Create Bitcoin?

Nakamoto was inspired by the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, which resulted in a shortage of liquidity in global financial markets. He wanted to create a financial market without a central entity to control or manipulate the system. His distrust of traditional banking systems drove him into creating something extraordinary that would have an impact on global finance. 

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency to be created, and it embodies all of Satoshi Nakomoto’s goals, which are decentralization, transparency, security, and financial sovereignty. It removes the need for middlemen or intermediaries like banks and institutions, allowing individuals to have full control over their assets. Furthermore, each transaction is secure and is recorded on the blockchain ledger where anyone of the network can access the transaction record. 

For the first few months after the launch of Bitcoin, it had no monetary value. The only ones active on the blockchain were the miners who were using their computer to solve the mathematical problems that validated transactions and secured the network. During that time, it was the miners who held the blockchain and were rewarded with Bitcoin for their effort. The real world transaction using Bitcoin happened on May 22, 2010. Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida-based programmer spent 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. On BitcoinTalk Forum he wrote,

I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having left over pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins…..

Satoshi Nakamoto’s Possible Identities

Over the years, a few individuals have been suspected of being Satoshi Nakamoto. Here’s a list of the possible identities of the elusive creator of Bitcoin, 

Dorian Nakamoto

Newsweek magazine in a high profile manner, published an article “The Face Behind Bitcoin,” in 2014, citing Dorian Nakamoto as the creator of Bitcoin. Dorian Nakamoto, 64 and living in California at that time, was a Japanese-American physicist who had been out of work for many years. Leah Mcgrath Goodman, the journalist behind the article, shared many similarities between Dorian Nakamoto and Satoshi Nakamoto, which included being skilled in mathematics, political leanings, Japanese heritage, and more.   

Dorian, when confronted as the creator of Bitcoin, denied any involvement with Bitcoin and stated that the story has been a source of great deal of confusion and stress for him and his family. Furthermore, the crypto community were shocked about the invasion of privacy by the magazine who included a picture of Dorian’s house in the article. For this reason, the community organized a fundraiser and raised 100 BTC to express their support over his ordeal.  

Nick Szabo

In an article called “Decoding the Enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto” published by the New York Times in 2015, they compared Nick Szabo with Nakamoto. Nick Sazbo was a well known computer programmer and cryptographer and was the first person to propose the concept of smart contracts in 1996. Furthermore, he also came up with Bit Gold, a decentralized digital currency back in 1998 but it was only in 2005 that Szabo mentioned this project to the public in a blog. 

In a book, Bitcoin: The Future of Money written by Dominic Frisby, the author presented various arguments stating that Nick is the creator of Bitcoin. Additionally, Elon Musk in a podcast said that he thinks Nick Szabo is the one behind the coin. But, Szabo has repeatedly denied the rumors.     

Craig Wright

Unlike others who have repeatedly denied their involvement in Bitcoin, Craig Wright publicly claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto in 2016. The Australian computer scientist’s claim caused a lot of controversies in the crypto community. Wright filed for copyright for both the Bitcoin white paper and the code, which were awarded in April 2019. But this copyright doesn’t hold any major significance as anyone can file for it and be awarded with it because having these doesn’t mean proof of ownership.     

But Wired magazine reported several inconsistencies in Wright’s story and the entire crypto community and crypto personalities like Vitalik Buterin criticized him for posing as Satoshi Nakamoto. In February 2024, he was then taken to court by Crypto Open Patent Alliance for falsely claiming to be Bitcoin’s creator among others. The London High Court Judge James Mellor determined Craig Wright to not be Satoshi Nakamoto.

Peter Todd

In the HBO documentary called “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” by director Cullen Hoback released in October 2024, Peter Todd is revealed as Satoshi. Todd is a Canadian software developer who has made major contributions to Bitcoin’s code and has participated in projects that helped in enhancing Bitcoin’s security and functionality. He has been serving as a Bitcoin core developer at Coinkite since July 2014 and a board advisor to Verisart since 2015. Furthermore, Todd is currently serving as the Dark Wallet and Mastercoin’s chief scientist. In response to the Cullen Hoback documentary, Todd denied the claim, stating that he’s not Satoshi. 

Conclusion

The mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto identity continues to fascinate the world, and remains as one of the greatest mysteries in the crypto world. From Dorian Nakamoto, Nick Szabo, to Craig Wright and Peter Todd, many individuals have been scrutinized but there has yet to be definite proof as to who the creator of Bitcoin really is. No matter who Satoshi Nakamoto really is, it is quite clear that Bitcoin has revolutionized the global finance industry. Despite hiding in the shadows, his creation has left a huge mark in the world, which will be felt for generations to come.