An Australian man went on trial in London this week over his claims to have invented bitcoin — not the first time someone has been linked to the cryptocurrency’s enigmatic creator.
Computer scientist Craig Wright, 53, says he is “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the pseudonym of bitcoin’s creator and author of a white paper that introduced the cryptocurrency to the world in 2008.
They have been sued by cryptocurrency activists who say he lied and falsified documents in his attempts to pretend to be the founder of bitcoin.
Bitcoin has seen its popularity skyrocket to become the largest cryptocurrency and now has a market capitalization of $880 billion according to specialist website Coingecko.
However, after working with other developers to refine the code, the mysterious Satoshi disappeared from the radar around 2011. Since then, many theories about his identity have emerged.
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Hal Finney
American programmer and cryptographer Hal Finney was the first to receive the virtual unit, when Satoshi himself sent him ten bitcoins as a test.
However, in October 2023, the theory that Finney was actually Satoshi was debunked by a high-profile blogger in the crypto community.
The amateur tinkerer said he discovered evidence suggesting Finney, who died in 2014, was participating in a running race at the same time Satoshi was answering emails and trading bitcoins, thus disqualifying him.
Dorian Nakamoto
Japanese-American engineer Dorian Nakamoto was among the first to be suspected of shaking up the currency world, following a 2014 report by Newsweek magazine that he was behind the digital token.
“I’m no longer involved in it and I can’t discuss it. It’s been handed over to other people. They’re in charge of it now. I no longer have anything to do with it,” he said, according to Newsweek.
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He has since denied being Satoshi Nakamoto.
In 2012, the shadowy creator of bitcoin claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan, according to a profile published online.
However, critics dispute this assumption, citing Satoshi Nakamoto’s excellent English and typically British turns of phrase.
Nick Sambo
Szabo, an American computer scientist of Hungarian descent, was an early adopter of decentralized cryptocurrencies and was named by a blogger in 2013 as a possible candidate to create bitcoin.
However, industry insiders argue that there is no tangible proof that it is Satoshi, beyond circumstantial evidence.
Craig Wright
Wright went on trial this week at the High Court in London, with proceedings expected to last until mid-March.
The enigmatic Australian developer describes himself on X as the “Creator of Bitcoin” and insists he has the skills and knowledge to have invented it.
The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit organization founded to keep cryptocurrency technology patent-free, is suing Wright over his claims that were first made in 2016.
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COPA accuses Wright, nicknamed “Faketoshi” by critics, of lying about his identity and forging and manipulating documents.
Wright has been embroiled in several self-initiated lawsuits, but this time he is being called on to defend himself.
Elon Musk
The world’s richest man was also in the frame, after a former intern at his company SpaceX wrote a series of articles speculating that Satoshi was actually Musk.
The former intern, writing on the website Medium, claimed that the billionaire uses similar language and expressions to Satoshi’s, adding that a close associate of Musk seemed too embarrassed to discuss it.
However, the tech-savvy Musk dismissed the claims in late 2017 in the face of such scant evidence.
Uncertainty prevails
Despite feverish speculation, uncertainty reigns.
Some commentators argue that a project of such scope and complexity as bitcoin could only be the work of a group of people rather than a single developer.
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Others say it’s highly possible that the real Satoshi Nakamoto is either dead — or wishes to preserve the integrity of bitcoin’s collective ethos by maintaining his own anonymity.
Satoshi Nakamoto, meanwhile, still owns about 980,000 bitcoins, according to industry researcher Sergio Lerner.
If the king of bitcoin is alive and decides to cash in, it could potentially bring the cryptocurrency down because they are collectively worth about $44 billion at current prices.
Source: AFP