Satoshi Nakamoto: the creator who chose disappearance over fame

When on October 31, 2008, an unknown individual published a nine-page document titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” few could have imagined that this event would spark a global financial revolution. The author, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, presented a solution to the double-spending problem — the Achilles’ heel of all previous attempts to create digital currency. But even more intriguing remains Nakamoto himself: his true identity, his motives, and the reasons why he chose to remain in the shadows of his own creation.

The Person Behind the White Paper

According to the profile on the P2P Foundation platform, Satoshi Nakamoto was born on April 5, 1975. However, cryptographic and linguistic research suggests that this date is more symbolic than actual. April 5 is the day in 1933 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, declaring the possession of gold illegal for Americans. The year 1975 refers to the time when this restriction was lifted. Such a choice of date eloquently reflects Nakamoto’s ideology: Bitcoin is positioned as a digital equivalent of gold, a store of value outside government control.

Linguistic analysis of Nakamoto’s texts revealed impeccable English with British spelling of words like (colour, optimise), which contradicts his claim of Japanese origin. Graph analysis of his activity showed that he rarely appeared between 5 and 11 a.m. GMT, indicating residence in the US or the UK. His early programming experience is transparent in the code — the use of Hungarian notation (popularized by Microsoft in the late 1980s) and other stylistic features suggest a developer with decades of experience.

Architecture of a Revolution

On January 3, 2009, Nakamoto created the first blockchain block — the so-called genesis block. It contained a string from the British newspaper The Times: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This was not just a timestamp. It was a statement of intent: to create an alternative to the traditional banking system, which was experiencing a deep crisis at the time.

Bitcoin v0.1 was released on SourceForge, and Nakamoto began working with early network participants, including Hal Finney (the cryptographer who received the first-ever Bitcoin transaction) and Gavin Andresen. By mid-2010, Nakamoto gradually stepped back from the project, delegating responsibility to other developers. His last verified communication dates to April 2011, when he sent a letter to Andresen: “It’s a pity you keep talking about me as a mysterious shadow figure; the press just turns it into pirate currency.” Soon after, Nakamoto disappeared entirely.

The State That Was Never Spent

Analysis of early blockchain blocks allowed researchers to determine that Nakamoto mined approximately 750,000–1,100,000 bitcoins in the network’s first year. At the current Bitcoin value around $85 000 (April 2025), this implies a holdings range of $63.8–$93.5 billion — nearly the personal wealth of Elon Musk. This could make Nakamoto one of the twenty wealthiest people on the planet.

But what truly astonishes is that none of these bitcoins have ever been spent. Nakamoto’s wallets remain static since his disappearance in 2011. Security researcher Sergio Demian Lerner identified a pattern in early blocks known as the “Patoshi pattern,” which allowed experts to confidently determine which blocks Nakamoto mined. Interestingly, Nakamoto deliberately reduced his mining activity over time to give others a chance to acquire Bitcoin.

There are three main theories regarding the immobility of this state. First: Nakamoto lost access to his private keys. Second: he died. Third: he intentionally left this wealth as a gift to the Bitcoin ecosystem, adhering to the principle that his creation should evolve without centralized influence. Some analysts suggest that moving the coins would reveal Nakamoto’s identity through KYC procedures on exchanges or blockchain forensics.

In Search of Nakamoto: Theories and Candidates

Despite numerous investigations by journalists and cryptographers, Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity remains elusive. However, several serious candidates stand out.

Hal Finney (1956–2014) was a cryptographer and cypherpunk with deep knowledge of cryptography. He lived near one of the likely real bearers of the Nakamoto surname in Temple City, California. Stylometric analysis revealed similarities in writing, but Finney denied being Nakamoto until his death from ALS in 2014.

Nick Szabo developed the concept of Bit Gold in 1998 — a direct predecessor of Bitcoin. His understanding of monetary theory, cryptography, and smart contracts aligns precisely with Bitcoin’s architecture. Linguistic studies showed a striking similarity between his writing and Nakamoto’s. Szabo repeatedly denied involvement, stating he was used to such accusations.

Adam Back created Hashcash — a proof-of-work system mentioned by Nakamoto in the white paper. Back possessed the necessary cryptographic knowledge and was one of Nakamoto’s first contacts during Bitcoin’s development. Some point to British English in his texts.

Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, has repeatedly and insistently claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. He even attempted to register copyrights for the white paper in the US. However, in March 2024, High Court Judge James Mellor ruled: Wright “is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper” and “not a person acting under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.” The court deemed Wright’s documents as forgeries.

Peter Todd, a former Bitcoin developer, was mentioned in the 2024 HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” as a possible candidate. The theory is based on a chat message where Todd commented on a technical detail of one of Nakamoto’s latest posts. Todd himself called these assumptions “ridiculous” and “grasping at straws.”

Other candidates include cryptographer Lena Sussaman (whose memorial record was encoded in the blockchain after his death in 2011), Paul Le Roux (a developer with a criminal past), and others. Some theories suggest that Nakamoto is not a single person but a collective of developers.

Why Anonymity Is Not a Mystery, But a Solution

Satoshi Nakamoto’s anonymity is not just an intriguing secret. It is fundamental to Bitcoin’s very philosophy. If Nakamoto had remained a public figure, his identity would become a central vulnerability point for the entire network.

Government agencies could exert pressure, threaten, or arrest him. Competing interests might try to bribe him. His public statements would carry enormous weight, potentially causing market volatility. His identity would make him a target for extortion and kidnapping — considering his hypothetical wealth in the tens of billions of dollars.

Nakamoto’s disappearance guaranteed the decentralization of the project. It allowed Bitcoin to develop organically, managed by a community, without a single person wielding excessive influence. This aligns with the core ethos of crypto-anarchism — envisioning systems that operate independently of individual personalities.

But there is an even deeper layer: Nakamoto’s anonymity reinforces Bitcoin’s fundamental ethics — trust in mathematics and code, not in people or institutions. In a system designed specifically to eliminate the need for trusted third parties, an anonymous creator embodies the principle that Bitcoin does not require users to trust anyone, not even its inventor.

From Statues to Politics: How Nakamoto Entered Culture

As Bitcoin moved from a niche of tech enthusiasts to mainstream awareness, Satoshi Nakamoto’s figure gained cultural symbolism. In 2021, a bronze bust of Nakamoto with a reflective face was installed in Budapest, allowing viewers to see themselves in the sculpture — symbolizing the idea that “we are all Satoshi.” A similar statue stands in Lugano, Switzerland, a city that has adopted Bitcoin for municipal payments.

In 2024, Bitcoin reached an all-time high above $109 000, leading to an estimated Nakamoto wealth exceeding $120 billion — placing him near the top 10 wealthiest people in the world (despite never having spent a cent).

In March 2025, a pivotal moment occurred: President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve for the government. This would have been unthinkable for early Bitcoin followers. Nakamoto’s creation, born as a cryptographic experiment during the financial crisis, is now recognized at the state level as a means of preserving value.

The influence extended into popular culture. Lines from Nakamoto’s emails became mantras for the crypto community: “The root of the problem with fiat currency is trust — trust that it will work.” Clothing bearing Nakamoto’s name and portrait became popular among crypto enthusiasts. In 2022, even the well-known brand Vans released a limited edition of Satoshi Nakamoto sneakers, highlighting how the creator transformed from obscurity into a cultural icon.

A Legacy That Transforms Finance

Nakamoto’s white paper not only created Bitcoin — it initiated an entire industry. Blockchain became the foundation for smart contract platforms like Ethereum. Decentralized finance (DeFi) emerged as a direct result of his vision, challenging traditional banking.

Central banks worldwide are now developing their own digital currencies inspired by blockchain architecture. However, these centralized versions differ radically from Nakamoto’s decentralized vision.

As of 2025, approximately 500 million people worldwide use cryptocurrencies. Nakamoto’s absence has become part of crypto legend — the story of a creator who gave the world revolutionary technology and then disappeared, allowing it to develop organically, without centralized control. It has become a metaphor for Bitcoin itself: a powerful system that does not require a central authority to operate.

Remaining Questions

No one knows for sure if Satoshi Nakamoto is alive. His last verified communication was in April 2011. He has not publicly used any of his known accounts since then and has not moved any of his bitcoins.

Proposals for legal disclosure of his identity regularly surface in the crypto community. In October 2023, rumors circulated about a planned reveal on October 31, 2024 (the anniversary of the white paper publication), but most experts dismissed this as unfounded.

The name “Satoshi Nakamoto” itself may be a clue. Some researchers have suggested it could derive from the names of four tech companies: Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi, and Motorola. Others claimed it roughly translates as “central intelligence” in Japanese, fueling theories of government origins of Bitcoin.

The Future in the Shadows

As the 17th anniversary of Bitcoin approaches, the mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto remains unsolved. But the paradox is that this very mystery might be perfectly designed. When the creator becomes known, the project becomes vulnerable. When the creator disappears, the project becomes invulnerable.

Will Nakamoto’s identity remain shrouded in secrecy for decades? Likely. And if so, it may be the most perfect legacy he could leave — not a statue, not a fortune in billions, but an idea encoded in code that requires faith not in the creator, but in mathematics itself.