Bitcoin first made its presence known in January 2009 and has continued to intrigue the world ever since. One of the fascinating things about it is the mysterious identity of its founder Satoshi Nakamoto. Many have speculated, but the identity still eludes us.
While there are many other figures behind this digital currency whose faces we know, people have always been phased by the unknown. It’s in our nature to seek logical explanations to inexplicable questions. This is why every once in a while, you’ll come across yet another theory trying to reveal Nakamoto’s true identity. Continue reading as we delve into the theories behind this intriguing topic — the Bitcoin maker: 5 people who could be Satoshi Nakamoto.
Dorian Nakamoto
If you were to google Satoshi Nakamoto, one of the first image results would be this guy. Dorian Nakamoto is a 70-year-old from L.A. who has stated on numerous occasions that he is not the enigmatic founder of Bitcoin. However, his claims did not dissuade further speculations, especially due to his prolific work in the engineering industry.
Due to this fact, he had been accosted by reporters who wanted to get the first scoop on numerous occasions. Some even went as far as to follow him to L.A. restaurants. Thankfully, Dorian’s refusals were eventually corroborated by Satoshi Nakamoto himself, allowing him to return to his day-to-day life.
Craig Wright
The next suspect has caused a lot of controversies. Unlike other individuals who were accused of being Nakamoto, Wright never denied the allegations. This Australian started dabbling in cryptocurrency around the time Bitcoin white paper began to circulate. Thanks to leaked transcripts, the reporters connected the dots where Wright claimed to be the founder, and there you have it.
However, many took this piece of information with a grain of salt. It turns out that Wright’s story was full of inconsistencies. But, you know what they say — there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Eventually, Craig Wright managed to secure a successful career in the crypto industry, and his claims are yet to be disputed.
Nick Szabo
This computer engineer conceptualized a decentralized currency known as BitGold. Since this came to be known as a precursor to Bitcoin, it is no wonder that many assumed Szabo was the one behind Nakamoto’s alias.
Up to this day, there isn’t any compelling evidence that Szabo isn’t the founder of BTC. Author Dominic Frisby even discussed why Nick Szabo might truly be Satoshi Nakamoto in his book Bitcoin: The Future of Money?.
Gavin Andersen
Andersen is well-known as one of the early developers of Bitcoin. What’s also peculiar about his case is that Nakamoto went off the face of the earth in 2011, leaving Andersen in charge. Consequently, he inadvertently became the face of Bitcoin.
This software developer continued to work on other projects, as well. In fact, he helped establish BitcoinXT, consequently causing a debate amongst numerous software developers. As with any of our accused, we cannot claim with certainty that Andersen is the face behind the mask.
Hal Finney
The last name on our list is Hal Finey, who knew of cryptocurrency in its early days. He was a PGP Corporation developer, rumored to have received the first Bitcoin transaction from the man of the hour himself — Satoshi Nakamoto. Unfortunately, Finney passed away in 2014 from ALS consequences. The timeline matches that of Nakamoto’s online disappearance, and his BTCs remained intact up to this day. Even though Finney denied the allegations himself, we guess we’ll never know whether he was the founder of Bitcoin.