Satoshi Nakamoto. The name revered by every one of those who have heard the words Bitcoin and Blockchain. A name which holds immense power, a name with which billions of dollars is associated — the name without a face, the name wanted by thousands of faces.
It’s been over a decade since the first block of Bitcoin block; the first cryptocurrency was signed. The unthinkable had been done, by a man unknown. At first, people discarded it as a gimmick, then criticized it for being an internet bubble, then laughed at it for claiming to be the next monetary revolution, and at last, they fought to acquire it. In May 2010, one BTC was traded for under $0.01 and by December 2017, it peaked at $20,000.
However, even after this shot to fame, these drastic ups and downs, criticism and praises from all over the world, Nakamoto still remain anonymous. We don’t know yet whether he is alive or dead, or whether he is a she or they. But he, for now, remains the most sought after man in recent times, and the saga surrounding his name remains the mysterious since the beginning of the 21st Century.
There have been several people, who conspicuously claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin. None of them could prove it. The latest of them all is an online claimant, who said reportedly traces his links to Pakistan, where, he says, he was given the pet name Shekhu, after Mughal Emperor Jehangir. No matter bizarre it sounds, it isn’t more than any of the previous claims.
Take Craig Wright, for instance, the Australian Computer Entrepreneur. Wright was among the earliest known developers of Bitcoin and had some of the oldest keys of BTC blocks. However, he failed to prove anything and even started crying in court. Moreover, the majority of the industry experts, including the biggest names like Changpeng Zhao, Vitalik Buterin, Hodlonaut, John McAfee, etc., all debunked Wright’s claims.
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So the mystery remains. Who is Nakamoto? Leaving the self claiming ones, there are others who’ve been attributed to be the real Satoshi. Elon Musk, Tesla and Space X chief, is one of them. There are a lot of people in the industry, who believe Musk created Bitcoin, especially after he started advocating and promoting the token openly. However, Musk himself has denied the claim, and one must believe him.
Then some say that the CIA created it, to control the dark web, and ultimately, the world. For starters, it is a dark truth that Bitcoin was indeed used initially for buying drugs, arms, and even to pay prostitutes on the dark web. Though, BTC has now become more of the mainstream. CIA has never reacted to the claim, though their silence wouldn’t amount to acceptance, because the agency has always been working silence. And CIA wouldn’t risk of creating something which they cannot control; they’re shrew men with strong heads
There’s a conspiracy theory that some secret society like the Illuminati or the Skull and Bones created Bitcoin to fund their secret rituals anonymously. But that is just that, a conspiracy theory, the kind of which usually don’t have and proof to back their claim. But interestingly, the dark web is also rumored to be run by such secret societies, though there haven’t been any known pieces of evidence.
Then the question, “Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?”, is quite difficult to answer. It has led to several accusations, attributions, and speculations, but nothing concrete. Instead, it would be apter if we ponder whether we need Satoshi Nakamoto to pop up? It would be better if he/she/they doesn’t/don’t show up. Here’s why.
First of all, it is said that Satoshi holds about 700,000 to 1,000,000 BTC, which make him among the richest crypto entrepreneur. However, many estimates claim that he owns a couple of times more BTC than expected, which makes him among the richest in the world. If the really Satoshi turns up one day, he would never be able to live peacefully again.
He would first be vulnerable to threats and security breaches, as he wouldn’t have had a chance to build a legit protective boundary around him. Secondly, the lawmakers of the world would be at his throat, given how they’ve have been reacting to crypto trade-off late, including the critical comments from the US President Donald Trump.
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To stop any bogus Nakamoto to surface again, the best thing the community can do is to thank the true master for creating this revolutionary technology and ignore all the claims. People should stop giving hype to such claims so that this kind of conmen get demotivated. There have been enough instances of fake Satoshis have tricked unaware users into sending these fraudsters their crypto assets. People have already lost millions of dollars in the greed of getting a few Bitcoins from Satoshi.
The mystery, therefore, must continue in the best interest of Satoshi himself, and the community as a whole. The pursuit of solving it is what needs to fade away.
