So who created Bitcoin?

Satoshi Nakamoto is the name by which the creator or creators of Bitcoin are known. We say creator or creators, because it is not known for sure whether Satoshi Nakamoto is the name of one person, or a group of Bitcoin creators decided to use this name to try to maintain anonymity regarding their real identity.

The name has become synonymous with Bitcoin, and despite the importance of this cryptocurrency in the international arena, Satoshi Nakamoto has not yet been found. That is why it is assumed that this may be a fictitious name of a person, or a group of people.

What we do know is that Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym who wrote the original Bitcoin document, or “White paper”. We also know that he is the person who is credited with the invention of Bitcoin.

Despite the fact that several people have called themselves Satoshi, the truth is that the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has not been revealed. Taking into account the fact that according to Coinmarketrate.com, the cost of the military-technical complex is above the $60,000 mark, we are not just talking about a billionaire man. We are talking about the richest man on Earth.

For many, Nakamoto’s figure is the most mysterious in the world of cryptocurrencies, and the truth is that he adds even more interesting to this digital world of cryptocurrencies. The only thing we know for sure is that a Bitcoin memorandum signed by Satoshi Nakamoto was published in 2008, and it was a real revolution in the financial sphere. The publication contributed to the development of cryptocurrencies.

The memorandum is called “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Monetary System”. This document describes the use of a P2P network as a solution to the problem of simultaneous expenses that may arise when using digital currencies. This problem is that a digital currency or a digital token can be duplicated in multiple transactions. This problem does not arise with physical currency, since a banknote or coin, due to its physical nature, can only exist in a certain place at a certain time. However, this does not happen with digital currency, because it does not exist in physical space, and when using digital currency in a transaction, we do not have to take it from someone who is in their possession.

Solutions to try to combat the problem of simultaneous spending or “double spending” have historically been based on the involvement of intermediaries in operations. These are trusted third parties who basically confirm that the digital currency was spent by the very person who had it. In many cases, these third parties, such as banks, can handle this type of transaction without increasing the risk.

However, this trust-based model can pose a great risk of fraud if the third party we are supposed to trust is not actually trustworthy. These intermediaries can only be removed if the transactions are encrypted.

Here the figure of Nakamoto and his Bitcoin post came into play. He proposed a decentralized approach to transactions, which led to the creation of blockchains. In the blockchain, temporary records for a transaction (blocks) are added to the end of the previous temporary records (chain), and all this is based on the POW proof-of-work methodology. This creates a historical record that cannot be changed.

Since these transaction logs are distributed to different nodes in the system (distributed registry), it is very difficult for someone to maliciously gain control of the system and rewrite the registry to take advantage of this. Blockchain records are kept safe because the amount of computing power to decrypt them prevents small-scale attacks.

The Story of Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto participated in the birth of Bitcoin, working on the first version of the software released in 2009. All messages emanating from or transmitted by Nakamoto were carried out electronically. The absence of a person or details about him makes it impossible to find out what the identity of the real person behind this name is.

However, a curious fact is that Satoshi’s entire involvement in Bitcoin ended in 2010. The last evidence of Satoshi’s communication is a message to another cryptocurrency developer, in which he said that he was going to start participating in other matters.

All this mystery and the inability to give a name have caused huge speculation around the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto and his identity. As the popularity of cryptocurrencies grew, this figure became equally significant and mysterious.

Although Nakamoto’s identity could not be assigned to anyone in particular, neither to a person nor to a group of people, it is known that Nakamoto has under his control a large package of Bitcoin, which is estimated at about 1 million BTC.

 

Taking into account that the maximum possible number of coins generated is 21 million, Nakamoto is estimated to control approximately 5% of the total number of Bitcoins, which is undoubtedly an appropriate figure of great importance in the market.

Candidates for Nakamoto

Due to the lack of a recognizable face and, unsurprisingly, candidates for the position of Satoshi Nakamoto have appeared in the last few years like mushrooms after the rain. Despite this, it was not possible to prove that they are real Satoshi.

• Hal Finney

He is an important figure in the cipherpunk movement, (not to be confused with the literary subgenre “cyberpunk”). Cipher banks advocate the use of cryptography and technologies that ensure user privacy as a tool to promote social and political change. Hal Finney has been a very active figure in the Bitcoin community, and has been there since he was born. In fact, he was the first person to receive a Bitcoin transaction. It is worth noting that Hal has never claimed the laurels of the creator of the Cue Ball.

• Dorian Nakamoto

We are talking about a California engineer who was identified as Satoshi Nakamoto from a Newsweek article published in 2014 by Leah McGrath Goodman. Despite the investigation conducted by the Newsweek article, the truth is, it is unclear whether Dorian Satoshi is really or not. It is curious that Hal Finney lived relatively close to Dorian Nakamoto, and this only adds to the mystery of all this.

• Nick Szabo

Like Hal Finney, Nick Szabo is a well-known activist of the cryptographers movement, and was friends with many people who were in the circles of the movement during the launch of Bitcoin. In 2005, he published an article in which he suggested the launch of a digital currency, which he called “Bitgold”, which would not depend on verification or the trust of intermediaries.

• Craig Wright

Another candidate for the role of Satoshi Nakamoto is Australian scientist Craig Wright, who is also engaged in various types of business. Gizmodo and Wired have published articles suggesting that Craig may be the person behind Bitcoin. But it is also true that there is evidence that shows that this is all part of an elaborate hoax. However, he continues to insist that he is the one behind the BTC cryptocurrency.

Getting Hints Thanks to the Bitcoin Blockchain

The analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain helped to determine with a high degree of probability which addresses belong to Satoshi Nakamoto. RSK Labs scientist Sergio Demian Lerner conducted an analysis of the blockchain, thanks to which it became known that Satoshi has about 1 million Bitcoins. All these addresses in the blockchain go back to the origins of BTC in 2009.

Over the years, some of the Bitcoins at these early cryptocurrency addresses have been used in transactions. This has given rise to a lot of speculation as to whether Satoshi carried out such operations. The analysis conducted by this scientist showed that these transactions have nothing to do with the addresses attributed to Satoshi, and that his bitcoin reserves are still inactive.

On May 21, 2020, a 40 BTC transaction was made from a bitcoin wallet, which was probably from Satoshi Nakamoto, since he had been inactive since 2009, to another unknown wallet. The bitcoins that were moved in this operation are coins that were mined in the first month of Bitcoin’s existence.

 

Although it is not known whether these assets belonged to the famous creator or not, the truth is that there was a curious movement in the market, as users began to think that maybe Satoshi was getting rid of his Bitcoins, and there was some general turmoil.

Conclusion

In truth, it is equally curious and mysterious that the father of Bitcoin, digital currency and the entire decentralized digital currency exchange system is a man whose figure surrounds so many mysteries. But it is also true that Bitcoin is based precisely on the premise of confidentiality and encrypted messages, and therefore it makes some sense that we cannot confidently identify the developer of this currency.

Undoubtedly, this is an interesting mystery that only contributes to the popularity of Bitcoin, and its ability to guarantee user privacy.