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Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? Elon Musk drops his theory on Bitcoin creator
The founder of the most well-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has long been a mystery. And the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, has today thrown a theory into the ring.
With most people believing that ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ is just a pseudonym, in a now viral tweet, Elon Musk has suggested that the creation of this name came from combining parts of the electronics companies Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi and Motorola.
The Bitcoin founder’s identity has remained a mystery since the foundation of cryptocurrency over a decade ago.
And this isn’t Musk’s first exploration into the founder of Bitcoin. In December last year, Elon Musk pushed the popular theory that computer scientist, Nick Szabo, may be the elusive founder in an interview with Lex Fridman.
This was after Fridman asked Musk if he himself was the founder (another popular theory) which he quickly denied.
So, who is the original creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto? The answer may be more complicated that you think.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
In 2008, a paper titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System was released and published under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
This whitepaper laid the foundation for the creation of cryptocurrency. Nakamoto proposed a decentralised approach to transactions, which helped pave the way for the first blockchain database.
While many have theorised that Satoshi Nakamoto may not be the real name of the author, it’s still unclear if it refers to a single person or a group of people.
Whoever Nakamoto is or was, they were actively involved in the early days of Bitcoin to help develop the first versions of this software in 2009. They communicated electronically, however their lack of personal details made it challenging for those involved to pinpoint their identity.
The mystery remains one of the biggest to grip the internet. The last communication posted under this pseudonym came in April 26, 2011, in which they emailed developers to advise they had “moved on to other projects”.
The popular theories on who Satoshi Nakamoto is
While many have attempted to investigate who Satoshi Nakamoto is, including Elon Musk, no one has been definitively proven to be the Bitcoin founder.
- Dorian Nakamoto
In 2014, Leah McGrath Goodman published a story called The Face Behind Bitcoin. In this article, she proposed that 64-year-old Japanese-American retired physicist named Dorian Nakamoto was the founder, and his real name was actually ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’. While Dorian told her “I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it”, he has since denied this theory and stated he misunderstood these claims.
- Hal Finney
One of the pillars of the cypherpunk movement, Hal Finney is reported to be the first person to receive Bitcoin as a transaction. Not only did he express the libertarian views of individual freedom Bitcoin was founded on, he also coincidentally lived down the street from Dorian Nakamoto. Further, Finney retired from the PGO Corporation in early 2011, around the same time of the last email correspondence from Satoshi Nakamoto (April 26, 2011).
- Nick Szabo
Suggested by Elon Musk earlier in this article, early cypherpunk Nick Szabo is also a top suspect for helping to create Bitcoin. Nakamoto even referenced Szabo’s scheme called ‘BitGold’ in their 2008 whitepaper.
It’s fair to suggest that the real Satoshi Nakamoto will not respond to Musk’s tweet any time soon, but for the online fans of crypto (and a good mystery), we’re hoping that it is revealed one day.
In the meantime, if you’re looking to snap up new crypto options for your 2022 investments, it may be worth comparing cryptocurrencies today.
Disclaimer
This article is over two years old, last updated on March 10, 2022. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent cryptocurrency articles.
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