Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto: The 50-year mystery of the true identity, perhaps more complicated than you think

April 5, 2025, a date that has sparked a new wave of discussion in the cryptocurrency world. This day is widely regarded as the 50th birthday of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Despite Bitcoin having long since reshaped the global financial landscape, even surpassing the $109,000 mark earlier this year, the identity of this world-changing innovator remains shrouded in mystery—since disappearing from the internet in 2011, the entire crypto community has been searching for his trail.

A Symbolic Birthday?

According to information from the P2P Foundation, Satoshi Nakamoto was born on April 5, 1975. However, most industry insiders believe this date was no coincidence.

April 5th alludes to the same day in 1933—when U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, declaring the possession of gold by American citizens illegal. 1975 was the year this ban was lifted, and Americans regained ownership of gold. Behind this carefully chosen date lies Nakamoto’s ideological stance: Bitcoin is the digital age’s gold—a store of value beyond government control.

But there’s an interesting detail: analysis of Nakamoto’s programming style and writing habits suggests he may be much older than 50. He tends to use two spaces after periods— a standard from the typewriter era, indicating he mastered typing before personal computers became widespread. His use of Hungarian notation and C language coding conventions point to a programmer mindset from the 1990s. Some even note that when discussing the Hunt brothers’ silver market manipulation in the 1980s on forums, he used a tone of “personal recollection.” Taken together, many experts speculate his actual age could be approaching 60.

The Ghostly Founder

On October 31, 2008, on a cryptography mailing list, a person named Satoshi Nakamoto published a groundbreaking 9-page paper—“Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” This white paper introduced a radical idea: creating a fully decentralized electronic cash system without banks or financial intermediaries. Its core invention was the blockchain—a public, immutable ledger of transactions.

On January 3, 2009, Nakamoto mined the first Bitcoin block—the Genesis Block—and embedded a message: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Banks are about to get a second bailout.” This was not just a timestamp but a statement—against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, he aimed to create a financial system independent of central banks.

Nakamoto’s greatest technical achievement was solving the long-standing “double-spending problem” in digital currency. Through proof-of-work and a decentralized verification network, he ensured each Bitcoin could only be spent once. This was the first realization of digital scarcity, breaking the infinite copying curse of digital objects.

Until late 2010, Nakamoto remained the primary developer of Bitcoin, contributing over 500 forum posts and thousands of lines of code. His last confirmed communication was in April 2011, when he wrote to his successor Gavin Andresen: “I hope you don’t see me as a mysterious shadow figure; the media just turned it into a pirate currency.” Subsequently, he handed over full control of the Bitcoin source code and vanished from public view.

Interestingly, the name “Satoshi Nakamoto” itself is a mystery. Some speculate it’s a combination of four tech companies: Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi, and Motorola. Others suggest it means “central intelligence” in Japanese, fueling conspiracy theories.

Immeasurable Wealth

Blockchain data analysis indicates Nakamoto mined approximately 750,000 to 1.1 million Bitcoins in the first year. At the current price of about $85,000 per Bitcoin, this wealth totals between $63.8 billion and $93.5 billion—enough to place him among the world’s richest individuals.

Shockingly, this enormous fortune has never been touched. Bitcoin addresses associated with Nakamoto have remained completely dormant since 2011, with no transfer records. Security researcher Sergio Demian Lerner identified early “Patoshi pattern” blocks, confirming the scale of these wallets, and found Nakamoto even deliberately reduced mining activity over time to allow others to participate.

Why has this wealth remained untouched? Many theories exist: he may have lost the private keys, passed away, or made a philosophical decision to donate the funds to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Some speculate he’s hesitant to move the coins because any transfer could reveal his identity through exchange KYC procedures.

In 2019, a controversial theory emerged claiming Nakamoto was quietly cashing out early Bitcoins, but this was largely dismissed by blockchain analysts—transaction patterns did not match Nakamoto’s known mining addresses.

The Identity Enigma: Who Do You Think He Is?

Despite years of investigation, Nakamoto’s true identity remains the biggest mystery in the crypto world. However, several strong candidates exist:

Hal Finney (1956–2014) was a cryptopunk and early Bitcoin contributor who received Nakamoto’s first Bitcoin transfer. His expertise in cryptography and writing style analysis show similarities. But he denied being Nakamoto until his death from ALS in 2014.

Nick Szabo conceived a precursor technology called “bit gold.” Linguistic analysis reveals his writing style is strikingly similar to Nakamoto’s. His deep understanding of monetary theory and cryptography aligns with Bitcoin’s design. Yet, Szabo has always denied involvement, humorously stating he’s used to such accusations.

Adam Back created Hashcash, a proof-of-work system directly referenced in the Bitcoin white paper. He communicated with Nakamoto during Bitcoin’s early development. His coding style and British English have fueled speculation, but he also denies it. Interestingly, Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, has said Back is the most likely candidate.

Dorian Nakamoto is a Japanese-American engineer who was mistakenly identified by Newsweek in 2014 as the Bitcoin founder. When asked about Bitcoin, he initially seemed to confirm involvement but later clarified it was a misunderstanding—he thought the questions were about his work for a military contractor. The real Nakamoto posted on the long-silent P2P Foundation account: “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.”

Craig Wright is the most controversial claimant. This Australian computer scientist publicly declared himself Satoshi Nakamoto and even registered a copyright for the Bitcoin white paper. But in March 2024, UK High Court judge James Mellor issued a definitive ruling: Wright is not the author of the white paper and did not act as Nakamoto; the evidence he submitted was forged.

Other candidates include cryptographer Len Sassaman (whose memorial info was embedded in the Bitcoin blockchain before his death in 2011), programmer Paul Le Roux, and recently, the former Bitcoin developer Peter Todd, mentioned in the 2024 HBO documentary. The documentary, based on chat logs and Todd’s Canadian English features, proposed this theory, but Todd dismisses these as “ridiculous.”

Some believe Nakamoto is not an individual but a team of developers. But so far, no credible identity has been confirmed.

Why Remain Anonymous?

Nakamoto’s anonymity is not just a mystery—it’s the foundation of Bitcoin’s success.

If Nakamoto revealed his identity, he would become a single point of failure for the network. Governments could arrest, threaten, or pressure him. Business rivals might bribe or extort him. His words could trigger market swings or network splits.

Anonymity also protects his personal safety. Someone with hundreds of billions of dollars would be a prime target for kidnapping or extortion.

More deeply, it’s a philosophical stance. Nakamoto knew that a system led by its creator cannot truly be decentralized. By retreating, he made Bitcoin belong to the community, no longer influenced by a single individual. This embodies the crypto punk ideal—an autonomous system independent of its creator.

Most importantly, anonymity reinforces Bitcoin’s core ethos: trust in math and code, not in individuals or institutions. In a system designed to eliminate reliance on trusted parties, the creator’s anonymity perfectly exemplifies this vision—you don’t even need to trust the inventor himself.

From Edge Experiment to Cultural Phenomenon

Today, Nakamoto’s influence extends far beyond technology. In January 2025, when Bitcoin surpassed $109,000, Nakamoto’s theoretical net worth briefly exceeded $120 billion, placing him among the world’s top ten wealthiest—despite never having spent a cent.

Monuments to Nakamoto have been erected worldwide. In 2021, a bronze bust was unveiled in Budapest, with a reflective surface that shows viewers’ images—symbolizing “We are all Nakamoto.” In Lugano, Switzerland, a statue was also erected, as the city adopted Bitcoin as an official means of payment.

In March 2025, the U.S. President signed an executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve— a historic moment for Bitcoin’s integration into national financial systems. Many early enthusiasts never imagined this day would come.

Nakamoto’s words have become crypto community mantras: “The fundamental problem with traditional currencies is trust,” and “If you don’t believe me or don’t understand, I don’t have time to convince you.”

Pop culture has also embraced Nakamoto. T-shirts, hats, and other merchandise have become trends among crypto fans. In 2022, streetwear brand Vans launched a limited Nakamoto collection—how a cryptography genius became a symbol of counterculture and technological revolution.

Nakamoto’s innovative blockchain technology has spawned an entire decentralized industry—from smart contract platforms like Ethereum to DeFi applications challenging traditional banks. Central banks worldwide are developing digital currencies based on blockchain principles, though these centralized versions differ greatly from Nakamoto’s trustless vision.

As global crypto users are projected to reach 500 million, Nakamoto’s absence has become part of Bitcoin’s mythos—a creator who changed the world and then disappeared, allowing his creation to evolve naturally without centralized control.

The Mystery Continues

Even on his symbolic 50th birthday, Nakamoto’s identity remains a mystery. But whether he is an individual or a group, his legacy continues to thrive through Bitcoin’s ongoing success. Regardless of his true identity, he has changed the financial world by offering genuine decentralization.

So, who do you think Nakamoto is?