Do we have a right to know who Satoshi is? That is, the Satoshi Nakamoto who created Bitcoin in 2008 and mysteriously disappeared. He announced that he was leaving Bitcoin development in 2011, leaving no further trace except for two emails of uncertain authenticity that may have been sent in 2014 and 2015.
A New York Times investigation by John Carreyrou published last week is the latest effort to unmask Satoshi’s true identity. Based on evidence that ranges from an early interest in anonymous digital cash to hints in his writing style, the Times article concludes that Satoshi is British crypto CEO Adam Back. Two years ago, an HBO special, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, identified Satoshi as Canadian programmer Peter Todd, but as possibly working with Adam Back, giving the nod to Todd on the programming side. To be clear, Back denies the claims, as does Todd.
The identity of Satoshi isn’t just the greatest mystery of the crypto world, it’s one of the great mysteries of the world, period. So it’s no surprise that historians, journalists, crypto enthusiasts, and casual crypto watchers (I include myself in that latter category), are eager to know who Satoshi really is. In 2014, Newsweek identified him as an unemployed Japanese American programmer, in a scoop that quickly fell apart. Wired pinned him as Craig Wright, an Australian cryptographer, who turned out to be an imposter. There have been many other guesses over the years.
