Who Is The REAL Satoshi Nakamoto?

The true identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto is something that has boggled the minds of many a crypto enthusiast since 2008. Despite having been unmasked by the NSA, there are very few people outside the Department of Homeland Security who know Satoshi’s real name.

Suspect List

1) Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto

In 2014, Newsweek famously named Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto, a 64-year-old Japanese American with a fondness for model trains, as Bitcoins creator. While originally supporting the narrative, Dorian Nakamoto later denied he was the founder of bitcoin. Mr. Nakamoto divorced his first wife, remarried and had a further five children with his second wife Grace Mitchell, 56, who lives in Aubodon, New Jersey. (source)

2) Elon Musk

The tech entrepreneur behind SpaceX denied the long standing rumour after a former SpaceX intern compared his writing style. The results showed that Musk was telling the truth, and after hackers used Tesla to mine cryptocurrencies we think it’s even less likely!(source)

Elon Musk, Tesla Motors

3) A Russian or Chinese agent

The Obama administration was concerned that Satoshi was an agent of Russia or China — that Bitcoin might be weaponized against us in the future. Knowing the source would help the administration understand their motives.

4) Craig Steven Wright

An Australian who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto in 2015, withdrew from public life after supplying false evidence and later failing to provide new evidence to support his claims. His assertions were initially met with skepticism and not following through with the promised evidence leaves many wondering if he is, in fact, the elusive creator of bitcoin. (source)

Now, two publications once again claim to have outed Satoshi as an Australian computer scientist and entrepreneur named Craig Wright. Websites Wired and Gizmodo claim to have a series of emails, old blogposts and eyewitness accounts that, in Wired’s words, show that “either Wright invented bitcoin, or he’s a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did.” (source)

Craig Wright

5) David Kleiman

A popular choice in forums, David Kleiman, was Craig Wright’s best friend, an Army veteran, a paraplegic, and a computing wizard sometimes consulted by national TV networks for his expertise in computer forensics and security. According to a month-long Gizmodo investigation published in 2015, Kleiman may also have been deeply involved with Bitcoin. Documents and on-the-record interviews obtained by Gizmodo and Wired in separate investigations show that Craig Wright, an Australian CEO whose home and office were raided hours after the stories were published, repeatedly claimed in private that he and Kleiman were part of Bitcoin’s creation. Gizmodo wrote a very interesting article on Kleiman. (source)

6) The CIA/NSA

A group named CIA Project claims that bitcoin is a creation of the CIA or NSA. While the group provided “evidence,” such as stating the name, Satoshi Nakamoto, roughly translates to “Central Intelligence” in Japanese, their perspective is considered to be no more than a conspiracy theory. (source)

7) Nick Szabo

A reclusive American, deeply involved in the bitcoin project, released a blog expressing interest in the technology before Bitcoin’s release, but later reposted it to alter the publishing date. After the blog post about bit gold was determined to be from before bitcoins release, researchers at Aston University compared his writing style to Satoshi Nakamoto’s. According to Jack Grieve, a lecturer who led the project effort, the similarities were “uncanny.” (source)

8) Hal Finney

Many people believe that Hal Finney, the first person to receive a bitcoin transaction, was actually Satoshi Nakamoto. If so, the mystery of the founder’s identity may never be solved, as Finney passed away in 2014 from ALS. (source)

9) A Group of Companies

Some bitcoin users have suggested (jokingly) that Satoshi Nakamoto could actually be a group of four Asian technology companies: Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi, and Motorola. The name can be created by taking the “sa” from Samsung, “toshi” from Toshiba, “naka” from Nakamichi, and “moto” from Motorola. (source)

Have we forgotten someone?

What do you think? Have we found our Nakamoto, or is there someone not mentioned in this list that you believe is a contender for the crypto industry’s most elusive persona? Let us know by commenting below!

Conclusion

Whoever he/she/they are, the real Satoshi Nakamoto has many good reasons for wanting to stay anonymous. The most obvious reason would be potential danger; being worth over $10B USD could make Nakamoto a target, especially with recent news reports showing Bitcoin thieves threatening real violence for this virtual currency.

Article published by CryptalDash Exchange
Written by Becca Hallowes for CryptalDash

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