Satoshi Nakamoto's Riddle: Who Created Bitcoin and Why Remains Invisible?

In April 2025, exactly half a century will have passed since the date chosen by the unknown creator as their date of birth — April 5, 1975. Satoshi Nakamoto, a name that has long become synonymous with revolution in the cryptocurrency world, remains a mythological figure: his Bitcoin reached a historic high of over $109,000, yet the creator’s identity has not been revealed more than sixteen years after their departure from the network.

Who is behind the name Satoshi Nakamoto?

On October 31, 2008, a document appeared in a specialized cryptography mailing list that changed everything. The nine-page white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” introduced the concept of a decentralized currency capable of existing without financial intermediaries and banks. Its author signed as Satoshi Nakamoto.

On their P2P Foundation profile, this mysterious engineer identified themselves as a 37-year-old Japanese. However, linguistic analysis of their correspondence revealed perfect English with British spelling — “colour,” “optimise” — which is strongly contradictory to Japanese roots. Activity analysis showed that the author rarely wrote between 5 and 11 a.m. GMT, indicating North American or British time zones.

The name itself contains possible clues. Researchers speculated that it is a compound word derived from the names of tech companies: Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi, and Motorola. Others saw in it a translation meaning “central intelligence” in Japanese — a speculation that continues to fuel theories of government involvement in the origin of Bitcoin.

The revolutionary idea that solved the impossible

What Nakamoto created was the solution to the double-spending problem, which had thwarted all attempts to create digital currency for years. His concept of a blockchain as a distributed, immutable ledger of all transactions, cryptographically secured and protected by proof-of-work, made digital scarcity a reality for the first time.

On January 3, 2009, Nakamoto mined the first block — the genesis block — of Bitcoin. Embedded in it was a headline from the British newspaper The Times: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This timestamp was no coincidence: it reflected the creator’s philosophy, motivated by the crisis of the traditional banking system, and their desire to offer an alternative to the world.

The date April 5 in Nakamoto’s profile is not just a number. It references Executive Order 6102, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on exactly that day in 1933, which prohibited American citizens from owning gold. The year 1975 in their birth date symbolizes the repeal of that ban. Thus, the choice of date reveals Nakamoto’s libertarian ideology: Bitcoin is digital gold, a currency outside government control.

The disappearance of the architect: When a genius goes into obscurity

Nakamoto remained active in development until the end of 2010, writing over 500 forum posts and creating thousands of lines of code. His last documented communication is dated April 2011 — a letter to developer Gavin Andresen with a phrase that sounds almost like a farewell: “It’s a pity you keep talking about me as a mysterious shadow figure. The press just fuels this into a story about pirate currency.”

After that, he handed over control of the source code to Andresen and completely disappeared from the cryptocurrency community’s radar. Fourteen years have passed since then. No public statements. No tweets. No movement of his bitcoins.

A fortune worth tens of billions of dollars that remains untouched

Blockchain researchers, analyzing early transactions, determined that Nakamoto mined between 750,000 and 1.1 million bitcoins in the network’s first year. At the current Bitcoin price of about $85,000, as of April 2025, his wallets hold approximately from $63.8 billion to $93.5 billion — a fortune that would place him in the top 20 richest people on the planet.

But here’s the incredible part: not a single satoshi from this stash has been spent since its creation. This phenomenon is known as the “Patoshi pattern” — a set of regularities that allowed researcher Sergio Demian Lerner to identify which blocks were mined by Nakamoto himself. The genius behind the blockchain even deliberately reduced mining volumes over time to leave room for other participants.

The address of the first block contains 50 bitcoins, which are technically impossible to spend. However, it received additional donations from Bitcoin supporters, accumulating over 100 coins. Symbolic: even after a decade and a half, people continue to honor the one whose identity remains veiled.

Why has the stash remained untouched?

There are many theories. The first: Nakamoto lost access to the private keys and can no longer access his holdings. The second: he died, taking secrets with him. The third, philosophical: he deliberately left his wealth as a gift to the ecosystem, unwilling to derive material benefits from his own creation.

Some researchers suggest that in 2019, Nakamoto began gradually liquidating his coins through various exchanges. However, these theories were met with skepticism by most analysts: transaction patterns did not match known Nakamoto addresses, and it was more likely early network users.

There is also a fourth version: Nakamoto does not touch his wallet because any sale through an exchange would reveal his identity via KYC procedures or blockchain forensics. Anonymity would be compromised.

Main theories about the person: From cryptographers to programmers

Despite decades of investigations by journalists and crypto detectives, the true identity remains hidden. However, a list of main suspects has formed:

Hal Finney (1956–2014) — cryptographer and one of the first Bitcoin participants, who received the very first transaction from Nakamoto. He possessed all necessary cryptographic knowledge. Stylometric analysis showed similarities in writing style. Finney lived near Dorian Nakamoto in California. Before his death from ALS, he categorically denied being the creator.

Nick Szabo — computer scientist who conceptualized Bit Gold (the precursor to Bitcoin) in 1998. Linguistic analysis revealed striking similarities between his writings and Nakamoto’s texts. Szabo’s deep knowledge of monetary theory, cryptography, and smart contracts fits perfectly with Bitcoin’s architecture. He consistently denies involvement.

Adam Back — created Hashcash — a proof-of-work system mentioned in the white paper. Back was one of Nakamoto’s earliest contacts. His cryptographic expertise is impeccable. Some point to stylistic similarities in coding and the use of British English. Back also denies being Nakamoto, though Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson called him the most likely candidate.

Dorian Nakamoto — Japanese-American engineer, mistakenly identified by Newsweek in 2014 as the creator of Bitcoin. When asked, he replied cryptically: “I am no longer involved and cannot discuss it,” later clarifying he misunderstood the question. Soon, an inactive P2P Foundation account posted: “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.”

Craig Wright — Australian programmer who publicly claims to be Satoshi since 2016. He even registered copyright on the white paper in the US. But in March 2024, High Court judge James Mellor issued a definitive ruling: “Doctor Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper” and “not a person under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.” The court found his documents to be forgeries.

Peter Todd — former Bitcoin developer, recently mentioned in the 2024 HBO documentary “Money: Electricity” as a possible Nakamoto. The theory relies on chat messages and the use of Canadian English. Todd called these assumptions “ridiculous” and a “fresh straw for sinking ships.”

Some researchers suggest Nakamoto is not a single person but a collective of several cryptographers.

Why has anonymity become an architectural feature of Bitcoin?

The mystery of Satoshi’s identity is not just an unresolved criminal case in the crypto community. It is a fundamental aspect of Bitcoin’s design.

Remaining anonymous, Nakamoto ensured that his creation would never have a central figure of authority. If the creator had remained visible, they would have become a vulnerable point of failure for the entire network. Governments could have pursued him. Competing interests could have bribed or threatened him. His words would carry enormous weight, causing market volatility. Network forks would divide the community depending on his stance.

Disappearance protects Nakamoto from physical threats. With a fortune in the tens of billions, he could become a target for extortion, kidnapping, and worse crimes.

But most importantly, anonymity embodies Bitcoin’s very philosophy. In a system designed to eliminate the need for trusted third parties, the creator must be invisible. Users do not need to believe in a person or institution — only in mathematics and code. Nakamoto understood this and acted according to these principles.

This choice allowed Bitcoin to develop organically, without a central authority, managed by a community of developers, miners, and users worldwide.

From monuments to cultural phenomenon: Nakamoto’s legacy

As Bitcoin grew from a niche technological experiment into a recognized asset, (President Donald Trump signed an order in March 2025 to create the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve), Satoshi Nakamoto’s influence extended far beyond technology.

In 2021, a bronze sculpture of Nakamoto with a reflective face was unveiled in Budapest, so that everyone could see themselves in the mirror. The plaque reads: “We are all Satoshi.” Another monument stands in Lugano, Switzerland, where the city adopted Bitcoin for municipal payments.

Quotes from the creator have become mantras for the crypto community. “The root of the problem with traditional currency is the trust required for its operation,” and “If you don’t believe me or understand, I don’t have time to convince you,” are repeated by enthusiasts, explaining the essence of Bitcoin.

Nakamoto has also penetrated popular culture. Clothing brands released T-shirts and hoodies with his name. In 2022, even the well-known brand Vans launched a limited edition of shoes named after Satoshi Nakamoto. He has become a symbol of the digital revolution and counterculture of freedom.

Nakamoto’s innovation — blockchain — has spawned an entire industry: from Ethereum and smart contracts to decentralized finance (DeFi), challenging the banking system. Central banks worldwide are developing their own digital currencies based on blockchain, although their centralized versions differ radically from Nakamoto’s decentralized vision.

Where is Satoshi Nakamoto today?

No one knows for sure if Nakamoto is alive. His last confirmed communication is from April 2011. Since then, he has not used any of his public accounts, nor moved any coins from his wallets. No social media activity, no interviews, not even anonymously — complete silence.

In 2019, rumors circulated that Nakamoto was allegedly beginning to gradually liquidate his coins through various exchanges. These speculations were quickly dismissed: blockchain analysts showed that transaction patterns did not match Nakamoto’s addresses.

In October 2023, a hypothesis emerged that a legal disclosure of his identity might be scheduled for October 31, 2024 — the 16th anniversary of the white paper. Most experts considered this a baseless rumor.

What is the reality? Perhaps Nakamoto is dead, and his private keys are lost forever. Perhaps he lives modestly, watching his creation take over the world. Or maybe he simply wants to live in peace, knowing his task is complete — he created a technology that no longer needs him.

Conclusion: Revolution without a revolutionary

When April 2025 arrives, on the day Satoshi Nakamoto chose as his birthday, the crypto community asks: where is he? But perhaps that is the wrong question. The right one is: why has his absence made him even more significant?

Bitcoin, reaching $109,000, proved that technology does not need its creator to change the world. In fact, Nakamoto’s presence might only have hindered. His disappearance is not a tragedy; it is a genius-level design decision.

The white paper from October 31, 2008, remains the only voice of Nakamoto we need. Bitcoin speaks for itself. And perhaps that is the best legacy the inventor could leave: a creation that lives and evolves completely independently of its creator, embodying the dream of money without trust, currency without a center, revolution without a revolutionary.