Will the Real Satoshi Nakamoto Stand Up in 2022?
It’s been over 13 long years since Satoshi Nakamoto released Bitcoin’s whitepaper and sparked the crypto revolution. His concept of integrating a timestamp into the Bitcoin hashing algorithm changed the world forever. It finally solved the double-spend conundrum that had plagued earlier cryptocurrencies.
The double-spend conundrum refers to a hacking method that was used against digital currencies before Bitcoin. It required a hacker to send two transactions, at nearly the same time, to different parties. The first transactions would still be processing while the second one was received.
This hack would trick the networks into thinking there was funding available. In the end, the second transaction would then cancel. The introduction of a timestamp into the equation made this hack null and void. It was impossible to send the transactions at the same time. This simple tweak is what made Bitcoin the first successful cryptocurrency.
You would think the person that invented one of the greatest developments in the 21st century would want to be recognized. However, Nakamoto remains a quagmire to both internet sleuths and governments. There have been intensive searches put out for this person, but none have revealed the results needed. Despite the time that has passed, the world is no closer to revealing the identity of this masked developer.
What We Do Know
Who is this mystery developer? Did they work alone? What is their next move and what will they do with the 1 million Bitcoin mined during the launch of the coin? All of these questions remain unanswered. Thankfully, Nakamoto left behind a few clues to his intentions. One thing is for sure, Nakamoto wanted to remain anonymous.
He used a fake name and went to lengths to secure his privacy. He hid his IP address and often communicated using only certain platforms. This sort of behavior isn’t anything out of the ordinary for cryptographic programmers and Cypherpunks.
Privacy has always been the main concern for these talented programmers. Notably, Satoshi, given as Bitcoin’s developer’s first name, is a traditional Japanese name that means “one with wise ancestry”. Considering the success of Bitcoin, this name fits.
Nakamoto’s Posts
Many people are surprised to learn that Nakamoto was active on multiple blogs in the early days of Bitcoin. In many of these posts, he sheds some light on his location and past. According to Nakamoto, he was born on April 5, 1975, and was living in Japan at the time of Bitcoin’s creation. He claimed to be of Japanese descent but a further review has cast doubt on these claims.
Online investigators have made some startling revelations regarding Nakamoto’s Japanese claims. For one, they noted that Nakamoto said he lived in Japan, but only appeared online during traditional UK work hours. This doesn’t necessarily disqualify him from living in Japan, but it does seem a bit odd.
Additionally, he had perfect English. It was as if he spoke it as his native language. These factors have only fueled the mystery surrounding this developer’s true identity. Here are some individuals who at one time or another have been considered Nakamoto. Some of these people have even claimed to be Nakamoto, but none has been able to remove the proverbial sword from the stone by moving Bitcoin from the original wallets.
Nakamoto’s Last Words
Nakamoto’s final known communication with the community directly occurred on April 26, 2011. In this now-famous post, Satoshi told fellow Bitcoin developers that he had “moved on to other projects.” However, this wasn’t the last time he was heard from. On December 12, 2012, he posted this message:
“There’s more work to do on DoS, but I’m doing a quick build of what I have so far in case it’s needed, before venturing into more complex ideas. The build for this is version 0.3.19… Added some DoS controls.
He continues “As Gavin and I have said clearly before, the software is not at all resistant to DoS attacks. This is one improvement, but there are still more ways to attack than I can count. I’m leaving the limit-free relay part as a switch for now and it’s there if you need it.”
A List of Possible Nakamotos
When Bitcoin launched, Nakamoto mined around 1 million BTC. These coins have sat untouched for the entire life of the project in a few wallets. For many people, only someone who can access these tokens will be seen as the real Nakamoto by the community. For now, this immense fortune remains untouched, but in the gaze of all to see. This massive treasure has reached the size that governments are now fearful of its effects if unlocked.
This desire, coupled with the overall curiosity of the crypto community continues to fuel speculation. Over the years there have been some compelling arguments put forth as to the true identity of Nakamoto. Each of these individuals has been singled out as a possibility. Here are the top Nakamoto contenders to date.
Hal Finny
Hal Finney was an excellent prospect as Satoshi Nakamoto. Everything about this guy fits the bill. He worked closely with Satoshi Nakamoto via community posts. Nakamoto and he would discuss the project and upgrades or changes. Notably, he was the first person to receive a Bitcoin transaction.
If all of this evidence wasn’t enough o peak your interest, he was also the first person to make adjustments to Bitcoin’s core code. Many people are surprised to learn that Bitcoin requires constant upgrades and tweaks. If Finny wasn’t Nakamoto, one thing is for sure, Nakamoto trusted and respected his opinion enough to leave his baby in his hands.
He Fits the Bill
Further fueling theories that Finny was Nakamoto was his education and history in cryptography. Finny held an engineering degree from Caltech and worked as a developer for the PGP Corporation. Despite all of these points, Finny publicly denied being Nakamoto on numerous occasions. This left many people in the market dumbfounded as they were sure he met all the criteria.
Sadly, Finny died in August 2014. When he passed, another theory came to light that only stroked the flames of curiosity further. Oddly, Finny lived next to another suspected Nakamoto, Dorian Nakamoto. Was this who Finney borrowed his anonymous developer’s name? Some people still believe so to this day. Some investigators think the pair co-created Bitcoin in secret.
Dorian Nakamoto.
Dorian Nakamoto is up next on the list. He is another developer that has an extensive background in cryptography. He also was Hal Finny’s neighbor, which only adds to the mystery. Notably, some journalists felt they had Nakamoto once and for all and in March 2014, they encircled the man’s house in a flurry of questions.
It was at this time that the quiet life of Dorian Nakamoto ceased to exist. He recalls how he exited his house to be confronted by reporters regarding a freshly published story in Newsweek Magazine that claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. At first glance, the story seemed solid. This guy had the background, worked for the government on many occasions, and was in regular contact with Hal Finny.
A lot of Coincidences
Additionally, the fact that he shared the same last name lent credence to the theory. Like Finny, Nakamoto had a technical background that qualified him as a possible suspect. He was a physicist at Cal Poly University. Also, he had worked in systems engineering for years and as a computer engineer for multiple financial companies. All of these facts only led to the credence of the claim.
Dorian Nakamoto had participated in multiple classified projects for the US government over the years as well. Perhaps what sent reporters over the edge most of all was when he was confronted and they began to ask him about Bitcoin he famously stated “it had been turned over to other people” and that “he was no longer in charge”. For split second, it looked like Nakamoto was revealed.
However, after the commotion died down, Dorian explained that he had given this canned response as he believed the reporters were inquiring about his work on classified projects. He then went on to deny having anything to do with the creation of Bitcoin. Today, the internet uses Dorian’s photo in the Satoshi Nakamoto memes to commemorate the fiasco. For many people, he is the only face they associate with the name currently.
Nick Szabo
Nick Szabo, is another early cryptographer who was in the right place and possessed the skills to create Bitcoin. Szabo was a talented Cypherpunk that was active in the cryptographic community when Bitcoin launched. He also held conversations via posts with Hal Finney on variety of occasions.
Even more interesting is that Szabo published a whitepaper in 2005, years before Bitcoin, where he described a new decentralized currency called Bit Gold. Notably, a few of Bit Gold’s technical concepts are shared with Bitcoin. Could all of these facts be mere coincidence? Amy people believe not.
He Didn’t Know of Him
However, the Szabo theory falls apart when you delve deeper into Nakamoto’s correspondences with others. When you review all of Nakamoto’s posts, it reveals a few discrepancies that void him from the running. For one, it turns out that he was not even aware of Szabo’s concept when he made Bitcoin.
It was another well-known blockchain developer, Wei Dai that first brought BitGold to Nakamoto’s attention. Szabo has also denied being Nakamoto publicly. It turns out that many of Bitcoin’s technical steps were simply required as part of its development. As such, multiple digital currencies from that time share some aspects with Bitcoin.
Craig Wright
Craig Wright differs from all of the other possibilities on this list in many ways. For one, he is the only one on this list that has claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto on numerous occasions. This claim has led him to direct odds with some of the better-known Bitcoiners in the market. In one instance he tried to sue a long-time Bitcoiner, HODLnaut, for slander after he questioned his claim to the Bitcoin throne.
Wright has been persistent in his claims. He even filed a copyright on the cryptocurrency. However, he has not been able to prove his identity by accessing the +1 million Bitcoins locked in Nakamoto’s early wallets. He claims the keys were lost and that there is no way to ever recover this massive fortune.
Wright first appeared as Nakamoto in December 2015 following the publishing of an interview with Wired and Gizmodo. Since that time he has gone to extremes in his claim to the Bitcoin legacy. Today, he still claims to be Nakamoto. However, his prospects of assuming this identity have faded.
Wright Continues His Crusade
On multiple occasions, he has tried to use cryptographic evidence as proof he is Nakamoto. However, his claims continue to be disputed by experts. However, in December 2021, a Miami jury sided with the Australian cryptographer in a publicized civil case.
The case was regarding the Bitcoin fortune and it put him directly against the family of his late business partner and computer forensics expert, David Kleiman. The court ruling saved Wright from having to pay billions to the deceased family who claims he stole half of the 1 million Bitcoin.
According to Wright, he is unable to move the coins because they are in a multi-sig wallet and his now-deceased partner is the only person who has the second key. Despite how you stand on the Wright Bitcoin issue, you have to admit he continues to push for recognition both legally and within the community. However, the launch of a Bitcoin Cash hardfork called Bitcoin CV has led many to discredit his claims even further.
Still No Nakamoto
After searching for over 13-years, Nakamoto’s identity remains a mystery. Consequently, his fortune sits untouched. It’s now worth billions more than when Nakamoto last appeared. Some speculate Nakamoto may be no longer with us, and others believe he is patiently waiting to reveal his identity to the world at the right time. No matter how you look at it, one thing is for sure, Nakamoto has succeeded in fueling endless conspiracy theories.
