By
Temitope Olatunji
April 26th, 2024
Due to the anonymity of the Bitcoin creator, many people have come forward to claim his fame. However, no one has successfully proved beyond reasonable doubt that they are Nakamoto.
Popular Bitcoin (BTC) proponent Gabor Gurbacs said that one of the best things Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the leading crypto asset in the industry, did for the community was to disappear from the scene after his invention.
In a social media post on X, Gurbacs, who also serves as the strategic advisor for VanEck and Tether, praised Nakamoto’s decision to step away, asserting that it allowed the Bitcoin blockchain to maintain its core principle of decentralization without any centralized authority.
No Fame or Glory
Nakamoto vanished in 2009, shortly after the introduction of Bitcoin, leaving nothing but an on-chain message to developers that the Bitcoin protocol is not immune to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Therefore, he warned that they should continue to work to protect the ecosystem from malicious actors.
“There’s more work to do on DoS, but I’m doing a quick build of what I have so far in case it’s needed before venturing into more complex ideas. The build for this is version 0.3.19… Added some DoS controls. This is one improvement, but there are still more ways to attack than I can count. I’m leaving the -limitfreerelay part as a switch for now, and it’s there if you need it,” the message reads.
In his tweet on February 11, Gurbacs commended Nakamoto for choosing anonymity over fame or recognition as the creator of the pioneering decentralized currency.
One of the best things Satoshi did for Bitcoin is disappear. No centralization. No media. No fame. No glory. No ambiguity. No attack vector. Satoshi made it all possible. Thank you and respect.
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) February 11, 2024
Where Is Satoshi Nakamoto?
When Bloomberg senior analyst Eric Balchunas asked if Nakamoto was still alive, Gurbacs said the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator was not one individual, citing other pseudonyms like Publius and Bourbaki.
If I said both, it’d be confusing… but some may theorize that Satoshi is not one individual… like Publius, Bourbaki, etc…
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) February 11, 2024
While Nakamoto’s identity remains elusive, many in the crypto community admire his decision to withdraw from the limelight, allowing his creation to speak for itself. A Twitter (X) user expressed admiration for Nakamoto’s courage in leaving behind a successful project without seeking recognition.
Another X user also said that he often thinks about Satoshi, noting that despite his disappearance, his spirit still lives in the Bitcoin community. He further stated that Nakamoto “out-thought and out-executed us all while taking nothing in return”.
We are all Satoshi
Regarding Satoshi Nakamoto, journalists have tried to uncover the identity of the individual or group of persons who have decided to remain anonymous.
Due to the anonymity of the Bitcoin creator, many people have come forward to claim his fame. However, no one has successfully proved beyond reasonable doubt that they are Nakamoto.
One such person is Craig Steven Wright, an Australian computer scientist who has refused to back down from his quest to become “Satoshi Nakamoto”.
In 2009, he registered the copyright for the Bitcoin whitepaper, requesting that every website that published the Bitcoin roadmap at the time take it down. However, he failed to prove that he was truly Nakamoto during a court case with one of his business associates. This prompted him to submit similar wallet addresses used in mining the Genesis block as part of the evidence.
During the trial, an on-chain message on the Bitcoin blockchain called Wright a liar and fraud. The message said that the Australian computer scientist did not have the key phrase used in signing the message, noting that “we are all Satoshi”.
In 2014, the media outlet Newsweek claimed to have identified Dorian Nakamoto as the creator of Bitcoin.
Subsequently, another individual, Nick Szabo, was suggested as a potential Bitcoin creator, primarily due to his contributions dating back to 1996 when he conceptualized the idea of a smart contract and later introduced a precursor to Bitcoin known as Bit Gold.
Dominic Frisby, the author of “Bitcoin: The Future of Money”, advocated for Szabo’s candidacy as the Bitcoin creator. Frisby pointed out several similarities between Szabo and Nakamoto, including similarities in their writing style. Additionally, he claimed that both Szabo and Nakamoto referenced Carl Menger, an economist, in their respective writings.