Ever since the introduction of Bitcoin, the members of the crypto community have been speculating who Satoshi Nakamoto is. The use of Bitcoin began in 2009, but in 2024, we are still wondering who the brains behind the world’s first cryptocurrency are.
Over the years, many speculations have been made based on interactions made via this decentralized mode of transaction. As the crypto market grows (read this review), it is only natural that more people will look into the elusive creator of Bitcoin.
While it has been a while since we have heard anything regarding this topic from the crypto community, it does not mean we have stopped looking for the anonymous Nakamoto.
Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto?
The persona of Satoshi Nakamoto emerged in early 2009 as the creator of Bitcoin. All those who had correspondence with Nakamoto did it electronically. With no personal or background details, people still worked with Nakamoto.
But in 2010, all communication with Nakamoto ceased and those who had contact with him were redirected to another developer after being informed that Nakamoto had moved on to other things.
As of now, we still don’t know who Nakamoto really is. He (or she) could be a person or even a group of people.
Nakamoto introduced the world’s first blockchain technology and continues to make a decentralized form of transaction available to the public. A large number of eminent personalities have been speculated to be Satoshi Nakamoto but there has not been any solid evidence to substantiate these claims.
One fact that all the community members assume to be true is that Nakamoto belongs to the British Commonwealth regions, according to the language used in their white paper and codes.
Surprisingly, most of the people under scrutiny for being Satoshi Nakamoto are not of Japanese descent unlike what the name suggests. Here are a few personalities who have attracted global attention for being Nakamoto.
Speculations So Far
Despite blockchain technology being in its nascent stages, the popularity of digitalized assets is on the rise like never before. You can read this review to get a better idea.
With everyone clamoring to get a foot in the crypto scene, it is no wonder that the number of eyes looking for Satoshi Nakamoto is increasing as well. Unfortunately, there has not been enough evidence for confirmation, leading to Satoshi Nakamoto remaining an anonymous entity.
Dorian Nakamoto
In 2014, Dorian Nakamoto was said to be the creator of Bitcoin by Newsweek. This was highly plausible and in fact, one of the first attempts by mainstream media to identify the blockchain technology creator.
Considering the similarities in the name and Dorian Nakamoto’s training as a computer engineer, it seemed to make a good case. However, Dorian Nakamoto had not been active in the field of engineering for years and made strong denials regarding his involvement in creating Bitcoin.
Hal Finney
Unlike Dorian Nakamoto, there is actual proof that Hal Finney was involved in ironing out the kinks in Bitcoin’s technology. Starting with his correspondence with Nakamoto and being the first person to carry out a peer-to-peer transaction with him, it is a little difficult to deny Finney’s role here.
Being one of the major players in the cypherpunk community, Finney’s political ideologies also point at him having a hand in creating Bitcoin. In fact, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, suggested in an interview that Hal Finney might be the ever-elusive Satoshi Nakamoto.
Nick Szabo
This is another computer engineer and legal scholar who has all the chances of turning out to be Satoshi Nakamoto. Szabo had written a paper in 1996 where he pioneered the idea of smart contracts. Combined with his idea for Bit Gold and similarities in writing with Satoshi Nakamoto, are strong indications that he might be the creator of Bitcoin.
In addition, Szabo maintained correspondence with Hal Finney and some other minor facts have formed compelling evidence that both Szabo and Finney might have equal roles in creating Bitcoin.
Craig Wright
Craig Wright caught the attention of the crypto community in 2015 when similarities in the timestamps of Nakamoto’s blog and his own came to light. Moreover, his credentials also indicate that Wright is someone with an interest in the idea of Bitcoin.
Evidence was found via his legal advisor and tax officials regarding Wright’s role in a peer-to-peer ledger. However, it was later found that the blogs were backdated and the rest of the evidence lost its credibility.
Elon Musk
This innovative and creative genius and his strong influence over the Bitcoin scene makes him the target of speculation. Through his tweets, Musk creates fluctuations in the market price of Bitcoin. Also termed as The Elon Musk effect, this is what first brought on the speculations about Satoshi Nakamoto being his pseudonym.
While it is not a far-fetched idea, with Musk playing integral roles in innovative platforms such as SpaceX, Tesla, and OpenAI, he has vehemently denied being the creator of Bitcoin.
The Need For Anonymity
Though many crypto developers make public appearances, Satoshi Nakamoto was the first one to bring forward the revolutionary idea of blockchain technology.
Considering the global financial crisis during the time and the fact that Bitcoin promised the arrival of a decentralized digital currency, many claim that Nakamoto wanted the currency to grow organically, away from a leader.
Another possible reason behind Nakamoto’s highly guarded privacy is security. Ross Ulbricht is an exceptional instance as to why the infinite opportunities to use Bitcoin might backfire.
Summing It Up
The only one who knows the real Satoshi Nakamoto is Satoshi themselves. Ranging from growth reasons to safety issues, the reasons behind the anonymity are quite valid. Thus, there is very little chance of the general public getting to know who Satoshi Nakamoto is. But the crypto world will never stop speculating.
Currently capped at almost a trillion dollars and with rising competition in the crypto field, a big change in the crypto landscape might finally bring Nakamoto into the spotlight.
