An Australian man went on trial in London this week over his claims of inventing bitcoin — not the first time someone has been linked to being the cryptocurrency’s enigmatic creator.
Computer scientist Craig Wright, 53, says he is “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the pseudonym of bitcoin’s creator and author of a white paper that introduced the cryptocurrency to the world in 2008.
He is being sued by cryptocurrency activists who say he has lied and forged documents in his attempts to pretend he is bitcoin’s founder.
Photo: AFP
Bitcoin saw its popularity skyrocket to become the largest cryptocurrency, and now has a market capitalization of US$880 billion, pricing data site CoinGecko showed.
However, after collaborating with fellow developers to finesse the code, the mysterious Satoshi disappeared from the radar in about 2011. Multiple theories have since emerged regarding his identity:
Hal Finney
US developer and cryptographer Hal Finney was the first person to receive the virtual unit, when Satoshi himself sent him 10 bitcoins as a test.
However, in October last year, the theory that Finney was in fact Satoshi was discredited by a high-profile blogger in the crypto community.
The amateur sleuth said he unearthed evidence suggesting that Finney, who died in 2014, was taking part in a running race at a time when Satoshi had been answering e-mails and carrying out bitcoin transactions, thereby ruling him out.
Dorian Nakamoto
Japanese-American engineer Dorian Nakamoto was among the first to be suspected of shaking up the world of currency, following a report in 2014 by Newsweek magazine that he was behind the digital token.
“I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it. It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection,” he was quoted as saying by Newsweek.
He has since denied being Satoshi Nakamoto.
Back in 2012, bitcoin’s shadowy creator had claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan, according to a profile posted online. Yet critics cast doubt on this hypothesis, citing Satoshi Nakamoto’s excellent English and typically British turns of phrase.
Nick Szabo
Szabo, a US computer scientist of Hungarian origin, was among the early adopters of decentralized cryptocurrencies and was named by a blogger in 2013 as a possible candidate to have created bitcoin.
However, industry insiders argue that there is no tangible proof that he is Satoshi, beyond circumstantial evidence.
Craig Wright
Wright has been on trial this week at London’s High Court, with proceedings expected to last until mid-March.
The enigmatic Australian programmer describes himself on X as “Creator of Bitcoin” and insists he has the required skills and knowledge to have invented it.
Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit organization set up to keep cryptocurrency technology free from patents, is suing Wright over his claims first made in 2016.
COPA accuses Wright, nicknamed “Faketoshi” by detractors, of lying about his identity and of forging and manipulating documents.
Wright has been involved in a number of lawsuits brought by himself, but this time around is being asked to defend himself.
Elon Musk
The richest man in the world has also been in the frame, after a former intern at his SpaceX company wrote a series of articles speculating that Satoshi was in fact Musk.
The ex-intern, writing on Medium Web site, claimed the billionaire uses similar language and expressions to those given by Satoshi, adding that a close colleague of Musk seemed too embarrassed to discuss it.
However, tech-savvy Musk rejected the allegations in late 2017 in the face of such meager evidence.
Uncertainty prevails
Despite feverish speculation, uncertainty reigns supreme.
Some commentators argue that a work of such scope and complexity as bitcoin could only be the work of a group of people, rather than a single developer.
Others say that it is highly likely the real Satoshi Nakamoto is either dead — or wishes to preserve the integrity of bitcoin’s collective ethos by maintaining his own anonymity.
Satoshi Nakamoto meanwhile still possesses about 980,000 bitcoins, according to industry researcher Sergio Lerner.
If the bitcoin king is alive, and decides to cash in, that could potentially crash the cryptocurrency because they are together worth about US$44 billion at current prices.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS