The Mystery of Bitcoin’s Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Continues

Since the genesis block was mined in January 2009, the identity of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has remained one of the most enduring mysteries in finance. According to the Bitcoin whitepaper, Nakamoto planned for Bitcoin to exist as a decentralized entity without a leader. However, the vacuum created by the Bitcoin founder’s disappearance since 2011 has opened the door to numerous claims of authorship. 

Several figures have since been rumored to be Bitcoin’s creator, with attention focused on those widely speculated to be within the crypto community. While nearly everyone else denied being involved in Bitcoin’s creation, Craig Wright went as far as engaging in a high-profile litigation that culminated in a March 2024 UK High Court ruling that found “overwhelming evidence” he is not Bitcoin’s creator.

The next section details the various “Bitcoin Creator” allegations and claims since Nakamoto’s disappearance, highlighting each individual’s argument and what the crypto community thinks about them.

Adam Back

Famously known as a British cryptographer and CEO of Blockstream, Adam Back invented Hashcash, a proof-of-work system crucial to Bitcoin mining, in 1997, several years before Bitcoin was created, and even before launching Blockstream. Back did not claim to be the creator of Bitcoin. Instead, it is the public and Bitcoin ecosystem participants who suspect him to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

The suspicion stems from several pieces of circumstantial evidence, including his Hashcash creation years before Bitcoin was founded, being explicitly cited in the 2008 Bitcoin whitepaper by Nakamoto, and his association with the Bitcoin creator—he was the second person Nakamoto reached out to via email before Bitcoin’s official launch.

Back refuted the claims of being Bitcoin’s founder by providing evidence demonstrating he had yet to fully understand Bitcoin’s internal mechanics long after the cryptocurrency’s launch. He shared logs from the Bitcoin-wizards IRC channel from 2013, admitted to being “an idiot” for not buying or mining Bitcoin until 2013, long after its release, and released his email history with Nakamoto, which revealed a professional distance between them.

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Dorian Nakamoto

Similar to Adam Back, Dorian Nakamoto has denied being the creator of Bitcoin following a publication by a major media outlet linking him to the cryptocurrency. He opposed the details contained in a controversial investigative report in 2014, categorically denying any involvement with Bitcoin’s creation.

In March 2014, Newsweek ran a cover story by journalist Leah McGrath Goodman titled “The Face Behind Bitcoin.” Goodman cited Nakamoto’s legal birth name, his professional background, his geographical proximity to the first recipient of a Bitcoin transaction, and the political views he held as evidence behind his report.

However, the suspected Bitcoin creator later rebutted the most crucial piece of evidence in the Newsweek report—a quote he allegedly gave while police were present at his home. He said,

“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.”

According to him, it was a “major misunderstanding” with a misinterpreted context. He exposed his unfamiliarity with cryptocurrency by referring to it as “Bitcom,” and claimed that his financial and health situation does not agree with someone in control of such a significant amount of funds and resources.

Nick Szabo

Nick Szabo is another prominent American cryptographer who has repeatedly denied being Satoshi Nakamoto. Many third-party researchers and public figures have linked Szabo with  Bitcoin creation because he conceptualized Bit Gold, a decentralized digital currency that is widely considered the most direct precursor to Bitcoin, as early as 1998. 

Incidentally, Bit Gold featured technical elements of today’s Bitcoin cryptocurrency, including Proof-of-Work (PoW), decentralized ledger, and Byzantine Fault Tolerance. However, despite the researchers’ findings, Szabo has maintained a firm denial, insisting that those doxing him as Satoshi Nakamoto got it wrong.

Hal Finney

Hal Finney is another American developer who denied being Satoshi Nakamoto until he died in August 2014. According to Finney, the closest he came to the technology was being a supporter and an admirer of the work done by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Those who suspected Finney to be Bitcoin’s creator cited his status as the first person, other than Nakamoto, to download the Bitcoin software in January 2009. He also received the first-ever Bitcoin transaction of 10 BTC directly from the creator.

Other evidence cited by proponents includes Finney’s creation of Reusable Proof-of-Work (RPoW) in 2004, a critical stepping stone that directly influenced Bitcoin’s decentralized design. Finney also lived a few blocks away from Dorian Nakamoto, leading theorists to suggest he may have used his neighbor’s real name as a pseudonym. Meanwhile, Satoshi Nakamoto’s final communication in April 2011 coincided with the progression of Finney’s ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), which eventually left him paralyzed.

Finney categorically denied being Bitcoin’s creator in 2013, describing himself as the “eager apprentice” of Nakamoto’s “master architect.” He further produced extensive email archives of his conversations with Nakamoto, revealing his role as a developer seeking clarification about the novel technology.

Peter Todd

Peter Todd is another of several individuals who have denied being the creator of Bitcoin. Todd described claims associating him with creating the cryptocurrency as “ludicrous” and “grasping at straws”. 

A documentary linking Todd with Bitcoin creation cited evidence from a December 2010 post on the BitcoinTalk forum. According to the documentary’s director, a reply from Todd’s account was a continuation of a thought started by Nakamoto, suggesting that Todd accidentally posted while logged into the wrong account.

The documentary made more allegations, including the use of a John Dillon persona, linguistic and geographical matches, and technical expertise to push the narrative of Todd being the founder of Bitcoin. However, the Canadian software developer rebutted those claims.

According to Todd, the BitcoinTalk forum post was simply a technical correction and not a continuation of Nakamoto’s post. In the meantime, critics believe that at 23, Todd was too young and could not have had the experience to author the Bitcoin whitepaper.

Jeffrey Esptein

Millions of pages of Department of Justice (DOJ) files released between late 2025 and February 2026 confirm that Jeffrey Epstein was an active early investor and networker within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The now-public documents triggered a viral narrative that Epstein could be the main individual behind Bitcoin.

Investigators and fact-checkers have since confirmed the emails were doctored and the document fabricated. They cited formatting errors and the use of an email address not found in authenticated Epstein records as reasons enough to discredit such claims. Meanwhile, authentic DOJ files reveal that Epstein claimed to have direct access to Bitcoin founders despite not claiming to be the founder.

Epstein died in a New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 as he awaited, without the chance of bail, his trial on sex trafficking charges. He was previously convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender.

In the meantime, discussions surrounding the Epstein case surged after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress overwhelmingly passed, ordering the Justice Department to release all its files from the criminal investigations into Epstein. The event also reignited discussions around his role in Bitcoin’s creation.

Craig Steven Wright

Craig Wright began his claim of being the primary author of the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2016, leading to a protracted litigation process that ended with a decision by the UK High Court and a series of severe judicial penalties.

Wright claimed to have worked alongside the late Dave Kleiman to develop the Bitcoin software. However, the global cryptocurrency community remained skeptical about Wright’s claims even before the court dismantled it.

Following a 2024 court ruling, Wright faced a suspended prison sentence, a General Civil Rights Restraint Order (GCRO), a penalty for submitting AI-generated hallucinations as evidence to appeal his previous losses, and potential perjury charges.

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Conclusion

Besides the above-listed individuals, there are several other crypto community players and technology experts who users allege to be the creator, or members of the team that created Bitcoin. These individuals include Jack Dorsey, Len Sassaman, and Paul Le Roux, among others.

Despite the allegations and claims, the identity of Bitcoin’s original creator remains a mystery, aligning with the fundamental philosophy contained in the whitepaper, which describes Bitcoin as the people’s money that should not be controlled by a centralized entity.