Satoshi Nakamoto is 50 years old, but we still don't know who he is.

On April 5, 2025, Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto will celebrate what he claims to be his 50th birthday online. However, this date is likely just a carefully crafted symbol—referring to the U.S. presidential executive order in 1933 that banned citizens from holding gold, and the moment in 1975 when Americans regained the right to hold gold. This symbolic choice perfectly embodies Nakamoto’s ideal of free will: Bitcoin as digital gold beyond government control.

After 16 years of disappearance, Nakamoto remains the most mysterious figure in the crypto world. Although he has not appeared publicly since 2011, his legacy has already transformed the global financial landscape. When Bitcoin reached a record high of $109,000 earlier this year, Nakamoto’s holdings theoretically exceeded $120 billion.

How a Ghostly Figure Rewrote the Financial System

On October 31, 2008, a person named Satoshi Nakamoto published a 9-page white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” on a cryptography mailing list. This concise yet profound document solved the core problem that had plagued digital currencies for decades—the double-spending issue. Through blockchain technology and proof-of-work mechanisms, Bitcoin achieved true digital scarcity for the first time.

On January 3, 2009, Nakamoto mined the Bitcoin genesis block, which contained a headline from a British newspaper—“Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This was not a random act but a direct statement of his original intent: a financial alternative independent of traditional banking systems.

In the following two years, Nakamoto published over 500 forum posts and contributed thousands of lines of code. By the end of 2010, he began gradually handing over the maintenance of Bitcoin to other developers. In April 2011, he sent his final email to developer Gavin Andresen: “I hope you won’t keep describing me as a mysterious, vague figure; the media only portray this as pirate currency.” After that, he disappeared entirely from the internet.

The Mystery of 750,000 to 1.1 Million Bitcoins

By analyzing early blockchain data, researchers found that Nakamoto mined a massive amount of coins in Bitcoin’s first year—estimated between 750,000 and 1.1 million BTC. At current prices of about $85,000 per Bitcoin, this wealth amounts to $63.8 billion to $93.5 billion, enough to place him among the world’s wealthiest individuals.

Even more puzzling is that these Bitcoins have never been touched since 2011. Security researcher Sergio Demian Lerner identified blocks potentially mined by Nakamoto using the “Patoshi pattern,” confirming the scale of this stash. Despite its value appreciating over time, not a single coin has moved from the original addresses.

There are various theories about why this wealth remains untouched: Nakamoto may have lost the private keys, he may have passed away, or he might consider this a philosophical gift to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Some also believe that moving these funds would expose his identity through exchange verification processes—something he clearly wants to avoid.

In 2019, some theories suggested Nakamoto was secretly cashing out, but these lack strong evidence, and most blockchain analysts dismiss them.

Who Might Be Satoshi Nakamoto?

Cryptographers, journalists, and researchers have spent years trying to crack this mystery. Several names keep recurring:

Hal Finney was an early Bitcoin contributor and cryptographer who received the first Bitcoin transaction from Nakamoto. He had the technical skills and his writing style shows similarities to Nakamoto’s. However, Finney denied being Nakamoto before his death from ALS in 2014.

Nick Szabo proposed the concept of “Bit Gold” in 1998, considered a precursor to Bitcoin. Linguistic analysis shows striking similarities between his writing style and Nakamoto’s. Szabo has consistently denied being Nakamoto.

Adam Back created Hashcash, a proof-of-work system explicitly referenced in the Bitcoin white paper. He was one of Nakamoto’s earliest contacts and possesses the necessary expertise. Back also denies the claim.

Dorian Nakamoto is a Japanese-American engineer who was mistakenly identified by Newsweek in 2014 as the creator of Bitcoin. When asked, his vague responses fueled speculation, but he later clarified his misunderstanding. Nakamoto later issued a statement via the P2P Foundation: “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.”

Craig Wright is an Australian computer scientist who publicly claimed to be Nakamoto and even registered copyright for the white paper. However, in March 2024, the UK High Court explicitly ruled that “Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper,” and the evidence he submitted was forged.

In 2024, the HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” turned its focus to Peter Todd, a former Bitcoin developer. The theory is based on linguistic clues from Canadian English and certain technical details. Todd himself dismisses these speculations as “ridiculous.”

Other candidates include cryptographer Len Sassaman and former programmer Paul Le Roux. Some theories even suggest Nakamoto might be a group rather than an individual.

Nakamoto’s Age Might Be Much Older

In-depth analysis of Nakamoto’s writing and coding style suggests his actual age could be well beyond 50. His habit of using double spaces after periods—an artifact of the typewriter era—indicates he learned to type before personal computers became widespread. His code employs Hungarian notation and uses uppercase C to define classes, both standard practices from the mid-1990s, reflecting an experienced programmer’s style.

In a forum post from 2010, Nakamoto referenced the Hunt brothers’ attempt to monopolize the silver market in 1980. This historical knowledge combined with advanced technical skills leads many researchers to estimate Nakamoto’s real age is more likely closer to 60.

Why He Must Remain Anonymous

Nakamoto’s anonymity is not just a personal choice but a guarantee of Bitcoin’s decentralized nature. If his identity were exposed, he would become a single point of failure for the network—subject to government pressure, threats from competitors, and market volatility triggered by his statements.

Holding hundreds of billions in value, public exposure would invite kidnapping, extortion, or worse. More importantly, Nakamoto’s disappearance allows Bitcoin to develop independently, rather than being a pet project of a single influential figure. This embodies the core philosophy of cypherpunks: building systems that do not rely on trust in individuals.

In a project designed to eliminate the need for trusted third parties, having a mysterious creator is the ultimate irony—even the inventor of Bitcoin does not need to be trusted.

From Statue to Streetwear: Nakamoto’s Cultural Footprint

Nakamoto’s influence extends far beyond technology. In 2021, a bronze statue was erected in Budapest, featuring a reflective surface that shows viewers’ faces—symbolizing “We are all Satoshi.” A monument was also built in Lugano, Switzerland, which has adopted Bitcoin as a municipal payment method.

In March 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, marking Bitcoin’s first integration into a national-level financial system. This was almost unimaginable for early Bitcoin supporters.

Nakamoto’s statements have become crypto community mantras. Phrases like “The fundamental problem with traditional currency is trust in its issuance” and “If you don’t believe me or understand this, I don’t have time to convince you” are frequently quoted.

Surprisingly, Nakamoto has also become a pop culture icon. Streetwear brands like Vans have released limited-edition Nakamoto collections, cementing his status as a symbol of the digital revolution and anti-authoritarian culture.

As global crypto users are expected to surpass 500 million in 2025, Nakamoto’s absence itself has become part of Bitcoin mythology—a creator who vanished after unleashing revolutionary technology, allowing his creation to evolve freely in a fully decentralized environment.

An Eternal Mystery

As Nakamoto symbolically enters his 50s, his true identity remains the greatest enigma in the crypto world. Whether individual or group, Nakamoto’s creation has already demonstrated the possibility of truly decentralized systems. The release of the Bitcoin white paper changed perceptions of finance, trust, and value—all originating from someone we may never identify.

Perhaps it is this perpetual mystery that is Nakamoto’s greatest legacy.