Unmasking Satoshi Nakamoto: Bitcoin's mysterious faceless creator

The world’s greatest cold case isn’t a murder or a heist. It's a disappearing act.

In 2011, a figure known only as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, sent a final, cryptic email and vanished from the internet.

They left behind two things: a world-changing technology and a digital wallet containing a fortune worth over Sh12 trillion, untouched in over a decade.

In the time after, journalists, detectives, and cryptographers have hunted for the person behind the pseudonym.

The trail leads to reclusive geniuses, defiant businessmen, and trailblazing pioneers.

But who is the real Satoshi?

The genesis of Bitcoin

On October 31, 2008, amidst a global financial crisis that eroded public trust in traditional banking institutions, an internet user named Satoshi Nakamoto published a nine-page paper, titled ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’, to a cryptography mailing list.

It outlined a method for creating a digital currency that did not require a central authority, like a bank or government, to issue it or to validate transactions.

Instead, transactions would be verified by a network of users and recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain.

A few months later, on January 3, 2009, Nakamoto brought his creation to life, mining the first block of the Bitcoin network, known as the ‘genesis block.’

Embedded within its code was a text that read: ‘The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks,’ a political statement in protest of the 2008 financial crisis.

Just over a week later, on January 12, 2009, the first-ever Bitcoin transaction took place when Nakamoto sent 10 bitcoins to cryptographer Hal Finney, a man who would later become a central figure in the search for Satoshi's identity.

For the next two years, Nakamoto actively collaborated with other developers on the Bitcoin software, communicating solely through emails and online forums, keeping their identity completely hidden.

Then, in April of 2011, the communications ceased.

After handing over control of the project's code repository to developer Gavin Andresen, Satoshi Nakamoto sent a final email stating, "I've moved on to other things."

They have not been heard from since.

An untouched fortune

Apart from being an enigmatic founder, Satoshi Nakamoto is also one of the wealthiest individuals on the planet, at least on paper.

Early blockchain analysis suggests that Nakamoto mined approximately 1.1 million bitcoins in the project's infancy.

These coins have never been spent or moved.

As of late 2025, that hoard of 1.1 million bitcoins is valued at over Sh12 trillion.

The search for Satoshi: The main suspects

The vacuum left by Nakamoto's disappearance has been filled with intense speculation.

Over the years, several individuals have been identified as possible candidates, each with compelling evidence for and against their candidacy.

1. Dorian Nakamoto

A retired Japanese-American physicist and systems engineer, Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto was thrust into the spotlight by a March 2014 cover story in Newsweek magazine.

A journalist pointed to his training as a physicist, his work on classified defence projects, and his libertarian political views.

The most striking piece of evidence was his birth name: Satoshi Nakamoto.

In an interview, Dorian Nakamoto was misinterpreted when he responded, "I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it," after being questioned about his involvement with Bitcoin.

He later issued a firm denial, stating he had never heard of Bitcoin until the journalist contacted him.

He clarified he thought the question was about his previous classified work for the US military.

2. Hal Finney

Hal Finney was a pre-eminent cryptographer and one of the earliest pioneers of the cypherpunk movement.

He was the first person, other than Nakamoto himself, to run the Bitcoin software and was the recipient of the first-ever Bitcoin transaction sent by Nakamoto on January 12, 2009.

Finney lived just a few blocks away from Dorian Nakamoto for a decade, a fact that some find too coincidental to ignore.

His writing style, when analysed, showed some similarities to Satoshi's.

However, Finney consistently denied being Satoshi until his death in 2014 from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

He presented email logs showing his correspondence with Nakamoto, which supported his claim of being a collaborator, not the creator.

3. Nick Szabo

Years before Bitcoin's existence, in 1998, Nick Szabo designed a mechanism for a decentralised digital currency called 'Bit Gold.'

The architecture of Bit Gold is so similar to Bitcoin's that many consider it a direct precursor.

Linguistic analysis has also shown a remarkable similarity between Szabo's writing and the known works of Satoshi Nakamoto, including the use of specific phrases and stylistic tics.

Despite the strong circumstantial evidence, Szabo has repeatedly and forcefully denied being Bitcoin's creator.

In a 2014 email to author Dominic Frisby, he stated, "I'm afraid you got it wrong doxing me as Satoshi, but I'm used to it."

4. Craig Wright

An Australian computer scientist and businessman, Craig Wright is the only major candidate who publicly claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

In 2016, he came forward with what he asserted was proof: cryptographic signatures from keys associated with early Bitcoin blocks.

However, the proof he provided was quickly debunked by security researchers as a technical deception, a fake.

He has since failed to provide the one piece of irrefutable evidence that would end all speculation: moving even a fraction of a bitcoin from one of Satoshi's known addresses.

Despite winning a UK court case allowing him to claim he is Satoshi in some contexts, the overwhelming consensus in the cryptocurrency community is that his claims are unsubstantiated.

Why Nakamoto's anonymity is crucial

The enduring mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto is more than just a compelling riddle.

The creator's anonymity is a fundamental feature of Bitcoin itself.

By remaining faceless, Satoshi ensured that Bitcoin could not be attached to a single person or leader.

This prevents the project from having a central point of failure.

There is no CEO to be pressured by governments, no single figurehead whose personal flaws could undermine the technology, and no inventor to dictate its future.

Today, the creation of Satoshi Nakamoto is a global phenomenon.

It has spawned an entire industry of digital assets and is used by millions worldwide, including a growing number of people in Kenya for investments, international trade, and remittances.

While the identity of the creator may never be definitively known, their invention continues to operate exactly as designed.