By Tobi Loba
A viral Reddit thread has reignited the decade-long debate related to the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin (BTC) is the first and largest cryptocurrency. And it still sets the pace for digital currencies, but the creator of this global payment disrupting technology prefers to remain anonymous, rather than attracting attention for the benefit of the decentralized digital asset.
Nakamoto mined the first 50 BTC from the genesis block in 2009. He then went further to mine relatively 1 million BTC and disappeared in 2011. Until today, no one can boldly say he knows Satoshi Nakamoto in person.
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Identity of Satoshi Nakamoto Sparks a New Debate
A post that fails to believe the continued anonymity of Satoshi Nakamoto has appeared on the front page of the popular Bitcoin subreddit, attracting hundreds of opinions based on the true identity of the genius Bitcoin (BTC) creator.
Some crypto enthusiasts opined that the late Parabo Corporation developer Hal Finney, who was one of the earliest recipients of Bitcoin, could be the Nakamoto we are looking for:
“I think it’s likely Satoshi was Hal Finney. I mean, what are the odds of Hal having a neighbor named Satoshi Nakamoto (I guess Hal simply borrowed his neighbor’s name)? And being the first Bitcoin recipient ever?
Also, his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progressing would explain Satoshi going inactive and then completely disappearing, with no chance of [reemerging] after Hal’s death in 2014.”
Some others wholly turned down the opinion, stating that there were times in those days when Finney and Satoshi were in online conversation:
“Absolutely not Hal Finney. Hal worked with Satoshi and had many online discussions. He would have been a loon to do that. First show his name then make a pseudonym. Most who have been in crypto think Satoshi is Nick Szabo. Me included.”
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Also, some users were of the opinion that the British cryptographer Adam Back could be the creator of Bitcoin. A Barely Sociable video that has accrued over 500,000 views was cited as proof.
Others also mentioned Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed Satoshi, and David Kleiman as likely Bitcoin genesis miners.
A user thinks the long-standing anonymity of the creator makes the story of Bitcoin better on a daily basis, stating that “This is probably the greatest story of the 21st century…”