Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

Satoshi Nakamoto is one of the most enigmatic figures in the history of cryptocurrencies. Would you like to know more? Let’s go!

Despite numerous attempts to identify the creator of bitcoin, perhaps this is the case when such secrecy serves only to benefit the cryptocurrency world. After all, Satoshi Nakamoto’s main goal was to achieve complete independence of financial instruments. And its deanonymization may become one of bitcoin’s main vulnerabilities.

In October 2008 a user with the alias “Satoshi Nakamoto” published an article «Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System» in a mailing list for cipher banks — the famous bitcoin white paper. In it, he described a decentralized settlement system that does not require the mediation of a third party, such as a bank. The genesis block of bitcoin was mined only two months later, in January 2009.

Satoshi Nakamoto was inspired to create the first cryptocurrency by the desire to solve the fundamental problems of the existing financial system, specifically the central banks’ policy of depreciation of fiat currencies.

What do we know about Satoshi Nakamoto?

Satoshi Nakamoto’s work was closely connected with the cypherpunk community, whose ideology has always prioritized confidentiality and data protection. Torrents, VPNs, and electronic signatures are all concepts that have come to fruition thanks to the efforts of cypherpunks.

Cryptocurrencies were no different. There were numerous attempts prior to bitcoin to create a decentralized payment system. However, Satoshi Nakamoto was the first to propose a viable model.

Nobody knows what lies beneath the nickname. It is said to be a person of any gender as well as a group of developers who wished to remain anonymous.

Satoshi Nakamoto stated in his profile on the P2P Foundation website that he was born in Japan, but this information has been called into question several times. Many signs point to Satoshi Nakamoto working and communicating from London.

For example, Satoshi always published all of his messages during working hours corresponding to the London time zone, and the hash of the genesis block of bitcoin contained a link to the title of the article “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks” from the London newspaper “The Times.”

Furthermore, Satoshi frequently used words that only native English speakers would understand in his letters. The bitcoin white paper was also written in perfect English and was never translated into Japanese. However, it cannot be ruled out that Satoshi was merely attempting to confuse the tracks in this manner.

Disputes over Satoshi’s alleged birth date persist. According to one version, Satoshi did not choose the date of April 5, 1975 by chance, but rather as a reference to significant events in the history of the financial system.

On April 5, 1933, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order prohibiting Americans from accumulating and storing gold. It wasn’t until 1975 that Americans were able to reclaim this right.

Perhaps Satoshi wanted to emphasize the flaws of the modern financial system while also showing the world what role he sees bitcoin playing in the future. This reference proved prophetic, as many people now refer to the first cryptocurrency as “the second gold.”

The name was also questioned several times, which experts believe may have a hidden meaning. In Japanese, the word “Satoshi” means “wise” or “clear-thinking”. The word “Naka” can be translated as “inside”, and “Moto” — “basis”.

At the same time, if you break the name into hieroglyphs, then together the words “naka and “moto” can be interpreted as “in the book”. In any case, it turns out to be something “clear-thinking in the foundation” or “wisdom in the book” (in the bitcoin white paper?).

Why did Satoshi Nakamoto disappear?

Satoshi was concerned about anonymity from the beginning. He never went online without using the secure Tor browser and always kept his identity hidden. While the others questioned Satoshi’s sanity, tracked the phases of his sleep, and suspected him of having ties to the Yakuza, Satoshi continued to work on the bitcoin source code alongside other crypto enthusiasts.

Satoshi remained an authority for everyone for a long time, discussing the existing problems of bitcoin and ways to solve them in the chat, and any bugs and shortcomings of the network were always solved only with his participation. However, Satoshi’s bitcoin policies and actions have come under increasing scrutiny over time.

In the end, this led to the fact that he removed his name from the bitcoin copyright statement, updated the site Bitcoin.org and added contacts of other active developers to it.

Satoshi Nakamoto last appeared online 11 years ago, on April 26, 2011. That day, he wrote a short letter to one of his colleagues, Gavin Andresen (creator of the first bitcoin crane), in which he gave him a copy of the cryptographic key from the bitcoin security alert system and spoke briefly about his vision for the network’s future development.

Attempts to reveal the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, who hides behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, have continued since then.

Who was considered as the creator of bitcoin?

So far, the most likely candidates, according to many community members, are Nick Szabo and Hal Finney.

Nick Szabo is an American cryptographer who invented the first digital currency concept, Bit Gold, in 1998. Unfortunately, due to numerous technical limitations, the ancestor of bitcoin did not gain popularity during those years.

Sabo has always denied any involvement in the creation of bitcoin.

Another possible candidate is Hal Finney, a cryptographer who received the first bitcoin transaction on January 12, 2009, at his address.

Finney communicated with Satoshi and supported his bitcoin plans, and he published their correspondence to prove it. However, many people believe that the correspondence was forged in order to dispel suspicion.

Finney died in 2014, which was a tragedy. But there’s a chance he’ll tell us the truth one day! Finney was not laid to rest in the traditional manner. His body had been cryopreserved.

There were those who eagerly demonstrated their involvement in the creation of the first cryptocurrency. Craig Steven Wright, an Australian scientist, is one of them. For several years, he has produced various proofs, but contradictions appeared here and there.

Initially, he stated that he discussed bitcoin with his partner, computer criminologist Dave Kleiman, in 2008. Later, during a courtroom meeting, he stated that he first met Kleiman in August of 2010. The cryptographic keys that Craig provided as proof that he was Satoshi Nakamoto were also created retroactively.

There is also one amusing assumption. According to the report, Satoshi was chosen by a group of researchers from four companies: SAmsung, Toshiba, NAKAmichi, and MOTOrola. However, no one has been able to prove or disprove this theory thus far.

There have been nine candidates throughout the history of bitcoin, but no one knows who Satoshi Nakamoto was: a man, a woman, or a group of people. And perhaps it isn’t so important. If his true identity is revealed, the foundation of complete decentralization may be shaken.

How many bitcoins does Satoshi Nakamoto have?

Satoshi Nakamoto is not only a legend, but also one of the wealthiest men: he owns over 1million BTC, which is currently valued at around $40 billion!

Of course, this comes as no surprise. Satoshi was the first person to begin mining bitcoins. Mining was simple and there was no competition at the start of the network’s formation. That is why the bitcoin creator had no trouble accumulating so many coins in his wallets.

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How can Satoshi Nakamoto influence the value of bitcoin?

Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity should be kept private. This viewpoint is shared by many professional traders and market participants. If he is revealed, bitcoin will formally have a “master,” and many people will believe it is no longer decentralized. Bitcoin’s primary advantage will be lost.

Any statements made by Satoshi, or even his death, could destabilize the first cryptocurrency and the entire market. The same thing will happen if he decides to liquidate all of his assets. Satoshi Nakamoto, whoever he is, still owns 5% of the entire bitcoin network, which has the potential to significantly affect the BTC rate and spread panic.