Satoshi Nakamoto at 50 years old: Living legend or forgotten genius?

April 5, 1975 — as inscribed on the Bitcoin network, the birth date of its mysterious creator. On this day, a jubilee occurs — 50 years since the official profile states that Satoshi Nakamoto was born. However, most experts understand: this date is not just a number on a passport but a philosophical manifesto. On April 5, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, which prohibited Americans from owning gold. The year 1975 marks the end of this ban. The genius was to embed a deep meaning into the birth date: Bitcoin as gold for the digital age, free from government control.

From Idea to Revolution: How One Line of Code Changed the World

On October 31, 2008, a modest white paper appeared in the cryptography community, only 9 pages long. “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” — this was the title of the work published anonymously under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. At that time, the world was shaken by a financial crisis, banks were receiving government aid, and currencies were devaluing.

Nakamoto proposed a simple yet revolutionary principle: money without banks, a system without central control, a currency that does not require trust in any institution. Sixteen years earlier, Nick Szabo attempted to create “bit gold” — digital gold, but lacked the mathematical tools to solve the double-spending problem. Nakamoto found the solution: the Proof-of-Work mechanism, a decentralized network of validators, and unbreakable cryptography.

On January 3, 2009, the first Bitcoin block was mined, known as the “genesis block.” It contains a quote from The Times newspaper: “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks” — a hint at the creator’s motivation. It was not just a transaction. It was a manifesto.

How Much Money Is in Satoshi’s Bath?

Network analysis shows that Nakamoto mined between 750,000 and 1.1 million bitcoins at the early stage. By April 2025, when Bitcoin trades around $85 thousand per coin, this amounts to a value of assets from $63.8 billion to $93.5 billion. For context: this makes Nakamoto one of the 20 wealthiest people on the planet.

But here’s the strange part: all these bitcoins are still sleeping in wallets on the blockchain. Not a single coin has been spent. Not a single transfer has been made. After 16 years of absolute silence from Nakamoto’s addresses.

This fuels hundreds of theories:

• Death Theory: Nakamoto has died, and the private keys are lost forever
• Leak Theory: In pursuit of anonymity, Nakamoto forgot the password
• Philosophy Theory: It was a deliberate decision to leave the wealth to the ecosystem as an eternal gift
• Fear Theory: Any movement of the funds would instantly reveal the creator’s identity

Security researcher Sergio Lerner discovered a pattern in early blocks called the “Patoshi Pattern,” confirming that Nakamoto himself gradually reduced his mining activity to leave room for others. The person who could have accumulated all the coins voluntarily stepped back from them.

The Mystery Deepens: Who Is Really Behind the Name?

From the very first day, it was clear: “Satoshi Nakamoto” is either a pseudonym or cover. Linguistic analysis of texts shows:

• Flawless English with British spelling: “colour,” “optimise”
• Online activity hours: active from 5:00 to 11:00 GMT, indicating North America or Britain
• Coding style: Hungarian notation, conventions from the 1980s-90s, suggesting a programmer over 60

No Japanese person is visible in this profile.

Main candidates are lost in the cryptocurrency history:

Hal Finney (1956-2014) — cryptographer who received the first transaction from Nakamoto. Lived near Dorian Nakamoto in California. Stylometric tests showed similarities in writing. But Finney asked before his death from ALS: “I am not Satoshi.” And it sounded sincere.

Nick Szabo — developer of “bit gold,” Nakamoto’s predecessor. His understanding of monetary theory aligns perfectly with the white paper. Stylometric analyses show remarkable similarity. But Szabo constantly states on social media: “No, it’s not me. I wish you understood that.”

Adam Back — creator of Hashcash, the Proof-of-Work system used by Nakamoto. The first person the future Bitcoin creator contacted. Yet Back categorically denies.

Craig Wright — Australian computer scientist who loudly claimed: “I am Satoshi.” Even registered copyrights for the white paper. But in 2024, a British court ruled: “Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper. The documents he submitted as evidence are forgeries.” The case is closed.

Peter Todd — Bitcoin developer, named in the 2024 HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” as a possible Nakamoto. Todd called it “nonsense” and “grasping at straws.”

Perhaps Nakamoto is a group of people. Perhaps one person no one suspects. The known beyond the main story: the creator’s identity remains a sacred secret.

Disappearance as Strategy: Why Anonymity Is an Integral Part of Bitcoin

December 2010. Nakamoto actively develops Bitcoin, posts on forums, publishes code. Then 2011. The last message — an email to developer Gavin Andresen: “I wish you wouldn’t talk about me as a mysterious shadow figure. The press just turns it into a pirate currency.”

And silence. For 14 years.

This is not a mistake. This is not fleeing from the law. It is an architectural decision.

The central figure is the central vulnerability. If Nakamoto had remained a public figure:

• Governments could pursue him
• Competitors could bribe him
• His words would carry excessive weight in the market
• With wealth of $63-93 billion, he would become a target for extortionists

Remaining anonymous, Nakamoto made a profound statement: Bitcoin does not need a creator. It does not depend on the authority of one person. The system must operate independently, governed by algorithms, not charisma.

This aligns with the cyberpunk philosophy Nakamoto adhered to. In a world where they say “don’t trust institutions,” the most radical step is not trusting even your own inventor.

The Revolution That Got Out of Control

By the time Nakamoto symbolically turns 50, his legacy has become part of the global economy. In January 2025, Bitcoin hits a record of over $109 thousand per coin. Theoretically, Nakamoto’s net worth temporarily exceeded $120 billion.

Has the societal stance changed? March 2025: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. What would have been considered madness by crypto anarchists 15 years ago is now official government policy.

Bitcoin has ceased to be just a currency. It has become an ideological actor. Bronze busts of Nakamoto with his face made of mirror-like material are installed in Budapest and Lugano — “We are all Satoshis,” says the sculpture.

The consequences of Nakamoto’s work have gone far beyond a single coin. They have spawned an entire industry: Ethereum with its smart contracts, decentralized finance taking over functions of traditional banks, central bank digital currencies (although they are centralized, contradicting Nakamoto’s vision).

Beyond technology, Nakamoto has become a cultural icon. The Satoshi Nakamoto clothing collection, a line by Vans, quotes repeated in crypto communities as mantras: “The main problem with regular currency is all the trust needed to make it work.”

The Final Question

No answer. On April 5, 1975, Satoshi Nakamoto was not born. This date encodes a philosophy. No person is revealed, no motive confirmed. Satoshi remains what he always was: a pure idea, a catalyst in the machine, a figure who, with awareness, understands that his creation is greater than himself.

Maybe someday the truth will surface. But for now, Nakamoto has left one perfect message: systems are stronger than people, mathematics means more than authority, and the true revolution is the one that does not need a revolutionary.