On January 3, 2022, the Bitcoin network will be celebrating its 13th year of life after its creator Satoshi Nakamoto kick-started the protocol. The creator of Bitcoin has always been the community’s most famous and mysterious character. Roughly ten years ago, Satoshi logged off, never to return and it’s very likely the inventor won’t ever come back.
Communication Breakdown
Satoshi Nakamoto invented the Bitcoin network and released the technology’s white paper on Halloween (October 31) 2008. The paper was authored by “Satoshi Nakamoto” using the email “satoshin@gmx.com” and the creator also attached the web domain name “bitcoin.org” to the paper.
The name “Satoshi Nakamoto” is of Japanese descent and it’s widely considered a pseudonym or a falsified name. It is assumed that Nakamoto’s birthday is April 5, 1975, as the date is displayed on the inventor’s P2P Foundation profile. If the birth date is correct, Nakamoto would be 46 years old today.
Over the years a great number of sleuths have made it their mission to discover the inventor’s identity. Although, Satoshi Nakamoto is likely deceased and there are many reasons why people would believe Bitcoin’s inventor is no longer with us. In the past, Bitcoin.com News has published many articles about the possible suspects that people have claimed are Satoshi, and the many that claim to be the famous inventor, as well.
The first thing we know, however, is that Satoshi Nakamoto left two messages before leaving for good. The first was on December 12, 2010, when the creator left the community a message about “venturing into more complex ideas.” The post on December 12 was Satoshi discussing things in a very serious and direct way, stressing that the “software is not at all resistant to DoS attack.”
Nakamoto never returned to discuss anything else on the Bitcointalk.org forum ever again. Years later, emails from Nakamoto to Mike Hearn and Gavin Andresen surfaced from April 2011, when Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator said “I’ve moved on to other things.” From here, most everything else about Satoshi’s further communications has been unproven and there have been a lot of wild claims and speculation that still exist to this day.
Bitcoin Riches Remain Unclaimed
The fact is though, after these messages Satoshi Nakamoto decided not to come back and it’s very possible that the inventor could not return due to health reasons. In fact, some people are quite certain that Hal Finney was the most likely Satoshi Nakamoto candidate. Finney had severe issues with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and passed away in August, 2014. Interestingly, Finney also retired from the PGP Corporation in 2011, the same year Nakamoto sent his final correspondence emails to Hearn and Andresen.
Lastly, one of the biggest clues Nakamoto is no longer with us — besides the complete lack of communication after ten years — is the fact that the inventor’s riches remain unspent to this day. It is widely assumed that Nakamoto owns a hoard of 1 million bitcoin (BTC) if the creator is still alive. But the stash of more than $60 billion worth of BTC has never seen the light of day, and there’s a good chance these coins are gone forever if Satoshi Nakamoto is deceased.
However, at the end of the day, there are not enough facts that can prove Satoshi is dead, just as there are not enough facts that can prove Satoshi is alive. Zero communications over the years don’t necessarily mean Nakamoto is no longer with us on this earth. Moreover, the fact that Satoshi has never moved or spent the $60 billion worth of bitcoin mined in the early days doesn’t necessarily mean Nakamoto is dead either. One thing is certain, Nakamoto’s shroud of mystery was good enough to make sure we are not.
What do you think about the possibility that Satoshi Nakamoto is dead? Or do you think Bitcoin’s inventor is alive and well? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
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