Created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto almost a decade and a half ago, Bitcoin has become the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency in the world. However, the true identity of Nakamoto remains a mystery to this day. Many people have claimed to be Satoshi, but no one has proven their claims beyond doubt yet.
While the identity of Nakamoto remains a mystery, their creation has gone from strength to strength over the years, with Bitcoin's price touching all-time highs last year. Given the price of BTC today, Satoshi would be a billionaire, although there's no indication that they're selling their holdings yet.
There have been many pretenders to the Bitcoin throne over the years, with dozens of people claiming to be the elusive Bitcoin founder. There have even been speculations that Satoshi isn't a single person, but a collection of individuals who together came up with the cryptocurrency. Crypto enthusiasts and online commentators have also proposed many names as to who could be the real Satoshi Nakamoto, although most have categorically denied those suggestions. One such person is Elon Musk, who many have claimed could be the real Satoshi, although the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has always denied those claims.
Will The Real Satoshi Nakamoto Please Stand Up?
Another person that many believe could be the real Satoshi is the late cryptographic pioneer Hal Finney, who was one of the first known people to use the Bitcoin software. However, he denied being the real Satoshi, and an investigation by Forbes largely accepted his assertion that he was not the real Bitcoin founder. Another potential candidate was a California resident named Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, who also denied any connection with the project. While a Newsweek report once suggested that he had accepted being the real McCoy, he's since clarified his stance, saying that he was talking about his prior work with the military rather than with Bitcoin.
Another man who some believe is the real Satoshi Nakamoto is Hungarian-American computer scientist and cryptographer Nick Szabo. While the New York Times has claimed that there's circumstantial evidence pointing towards Szabo being Satoshi, the man himself has repeatedly denied those claims. According to him, he always liked the idea of a decentralized currency, but is not the creator of Bitcoin.
Then there's Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist and self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator who is yet to conclusively prove his claims. He recently won a court case against the family of his former business associate, Dave Kleiman, who died in 2013. The suit alleged that Kleiman and Wright co-created Bitcoin, and Wright should pay half of his Bitcoin fortune to Kleiman's estate. However, the jury disagreed with that notion but awarded $100 million in intellectual property rights to Kleiman's estate. Wright has since claimed that the verdict shows the jury believes he is Nakamoto. Prior to the verdict, Wright promised to finally prove his identity beyond doubt if he won the court case, but that hasn't happened yet. So the mystery surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto continues.
Source: Wikipedia