Bitcoin is an open-source software that solves “The Byzantine Generals’ Problem” (BGP). It gives an internet user a way to transfer a unique piece of digital property to another internet user securely with no third party. The transaction between the two internet users is always authentic and nobody can challenge its legitimacy.
In the 11 years of Bitcoin’s existence, it has revolutionized several industries, and it’s here to stay. However, the question is: who created this astounding technology? Is it he or she? Is it a single individual or a certain group of developers? One thing we all know for sure is that Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin in 2008. The name Satoshi Nakamoto means “central intelligence” in Japanese.
Who exactly is Satoshi Nakamoto?
Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the speculated pseudonymous person or persons who wrote the Bitcoin code, mined the first-ever Bitcoin block, and also authored the Bitcoin white paper. Satoshi Nakamoto was active in the Bitcoin community, however, in 2010 he handed over control of the Bitcoin source code repository and network alert key to Gavin Andresen who currently serves as the Chief Scientist at Bitcoin Foundation.
After handing over control to Gavin Andresen, Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared from the Bitcoin project. Until the present, the mystery behind Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity has remained a secret. So many people have claimed, or have been claimed, to be “Nakamoto”. The media and curious independent researchers have tried to uncover the true identity of Satoshi, and below are the presumed identities.
Nick Szabo.
Nick is a cryptocurrency enthusiast and a Hungarian-American computer scientist. He is the mastermind behind the “Bit Gold” project that stayed as an idea. Literally—Nick didn’t launch his project, although the project contained enormous ideas that actually create Bitcoin: a method for decentralization, proof of work and timestamp servers, and a network security mechanism to make sure funds cannot be double-spent.
Researchers presume Nick to be “Satoshi” because of the timestamps of Satoshi’s posts in the Bitcoin community. The timestamps align with the EST time zone, which is that of Nick’s residence. In addition, Gizmodo’s report shows that Satoshi’s description of Bitcoin and Nick’s writing style about Bit Gold is similar. Although Nick is a potential contender for the real identity of “Satoshi,” he has utterly denied the hypothesis.
Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto
He is a 71-year-old Japanese-American who stays in California. His birth name was “Satoshi Nakamoto,” although after graduating from California State Polytechnic University at 23, he legally changed his name to Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto. A cover story in the magazine, Newsweek, mentions that Dorian is renowned for his intelligence, libertarian, moody ways, and an aptitude for math and science.
Leah Mc Grath Goodman — an award-winning investigation journalist — tried to uncover the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, and pointed to several facts in the cover story that suggested that Dorian was the Bitcoin inventor.
Goodman also wrote this in the cover story as the biggest piece of evidence that shows Dorian Nakamoto as the creator of Bitcoin:
When I asked Dorian Nakamoto about Bitcoin during a brief in-person interview, Dorian appeared to confirm his identity as the Bitcoin founder by stating: “I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it. It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.”
FROM THE MAGAZINE, NEWSWEEK.
However, later Dorian denied that quote and claimed that he had misunderstood the question. He thought the Newsweek journalist was asking him about his previous work with Citibank.
The Late Hal Finney
He was a cypherpunk who carried out the first Bitcoin transaction with Satoshi Nakamoto, where he received 10 Bitcoins from Nakamoto — he wrote it in the Bitcoin Forum. He was renowned for his great interest in cryptographic payment schemes, in that, he created the first reusable proof-of-work system (RPoW) in 2004.
The late Hal Finney is presumed to be the genius behind Bitcoin because his writing style was so close to Satoshi’s writing style. In fact, he is suspected to have ghostwritten the Bitcoin white paper. Hal Finney was diagnosed with ALS, and he died in 2014.
The media has also speculated the following people as potential contenders for the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.
Michael Clear — A young Irish computer scientist who has a deep understanding of the C++ programming language and is also knowledgeable on P2P networks. He is a potential contender because he is a libertarian and a cryptocurrency enthusiast.
David Kleiman — He was a computer forensics expert who passed on in 2013. The media speculates him to be the mastermind behind Bitcoin because he began contributing to the computer security mailing list in Metzdowd in the early 2000’s; and amazingly in 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published the first version of the Bitcoin white paper on Metzdowd.
Wei Dai — He is a Chinese world-renowned private computer scientist who worked in the Cryptography Research Group at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond and Washington. Wei Dai created B-money, which was referenced by Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin white paper. Several people suspect Wei Dai to be the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, but he also utterly denies the claims.
Some people have also claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. In 2015, an Australian businessman and computer scientist named Craig Steven Wright came forward to claim that he was the creator of Bitcoin. He tried to provide several pieces of evidence to back up his claims, but members of the Bitcoin Foundation and researchers found his evidence to be fabricated and an elaborate hoax.
Conclusion
The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is still a mystery, and most likely the public will not hear from him again. However, the Bitcoin idea is phenomenal, and it sprung up at the time when the world was going through an economic meltdown. Most people think Satoshi Nakamoto is an alien from another planet — which, of course, is not true.