The real identity of the Bitcoin idea generator is an unsolved mystery. A lawsuit in Florida could now clarify that. The most important answers.
table of contents
➡ Who Invented Bitcoin?
➡ Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
➡ Where is Satoshi Nakamoto?
➡ What is the Florida Trial about?
➡ Who is on trial?
➡ Who is Craig Wright? And what is his evidence?
➡ Who is David Kleiman? And what are his family's arguments?
➡ How can the riddle be solved?
➡ What is the key?
➡ Are there any other Nakamoto candidates?
Who Invented Bitcoin?
That’s actually clear. A certain Satoshi Nakamoto is considered to be the creator of the digital currency Bitcoin. The problem with this is that the name is probably just a pseudonym. In October 2008, Nakamoto published a nine-page white paper that is considered to be the basis of Bitcoin. He then sent this to a group of cryptographers. In this letter, the author described how a decentralized system of electronic cash could work. The idea became reality in January 2009, and Nakamoto mined a million bitcoins in its first year of Bitcoin. At the current rate, these assets are worth almost $ 60 billion. That would make Nakamoto one of the twenty richest people in the world.
However, the process is not only about this sum, but also about over 1000 patents, which were developed for aspects such as security, scaling and privacy around the Bitcoin protocol.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
The identity of the Bitcoin creator is a secret. This is not surprising, because the anonymity also corresponds to the Bitcoin system. It is a basic principle of this digital currency that it is not centrally managed and that it is not tied to institutions or people. If Nakamoto were to reveal his identity, he would violate this basic principle of anonymity.
The name Satoshi Nakamoto suggests a Japanese at first glance. However, according to experts, language analyzes of the posts rather suggest a person with an English-American mother tongue.
The question of whether a person or a whole group stands behind the name Nakamoto also remains unsolved. It is also a mystery why this Bitcoin million has not changed at all since then. Not a fraction of it has been purchased or exchanged to this day.
Where is Satoshi Nakamoto?
Forum entries and discussions on relevant IT platforms show that Nakamoto took part in the Bitcoin development for around two years. But at the end of 2010 all trace of him was lost. Since then there have been no more posts under this name.
What is the Florida Trial about?
Nakamoto's identity could be revealed at an inheritance process in Florida. If one of the parties can prove its identity, then it would be entitled to the billions. At most, the evidence is insufficient. At the trial, which opened on November 1st, the jury has three weeks to come to a decision.
Who is on trial?
The family of the computer forensics expert David Kleiman, who died in 2013, and the 51-year-old Australian programmer Craig Wright are on trial. The question is whether Wright really invented Bitcoin, as claimed. And whether the late David Kleiman helped him with this.
Who is Craig Wright? And what is his evidence?
Australian Craig Wright claims to have invented Bitcoin on his own
Entrepreneur Craig Wright claimed to be the inventor of Bitcoin in May 2016. He took the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto from the historical Japanese philosopher Tominaga Nakamoto. Wright released a digital signature that could only be generated using Nakamoto's private cryptographic key. But later it turned out that it was only a copied signature from 2009. Though he failed to prove it, Wright continued to be Nakamoto.
Wright's attorney said in court that he would produce evidence that his client was the sole creator of bitcoin.
Who is David Kleiman? And what are his family's arguments?
Ira Kleiman wants to prove in court that his late brother David co-invented Bitcoin with Craig Wright.
David Kleiman died a few years ago. But his family wants to prove that David wrote the white paper with Craig Wright. As the Kleinman family also claims ownership of the greatest digital treasure in history. David Kleiman's brother Ira argues that Kleiman and Wright are behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and that they developed Bitcoin together. Ira Kleiman accuses Wright of betraying his brother to get Kleiman's bitcoins.
Kleiman testified at trial that David told him during a Christmas dinner in 2009 that he was developing something “bigger than Facebook” before scribbling the now famous Bitcoin logo: a B with two dashes in the style of a dollar sign.
The Kleiman family insists that they are entitled to at least half a million bitcoins based on the business partnership.
How can the riddle be solved?
It is uncertain whether the court can clarify the authorship of the bitcoin. Basically there is only one proof of Satoshi Nakamoto's identity: His private key, which controls the account and thus the million bitcoins. If he were to redeem a small fraction of that fortune, that would reveal his identity. Thanks to the blockchain, all Bitcoin accounts are publicly visible during transactions.
Why Nakamoto, or those who claim to be, never took this step is another mystery that may remain unsolved.
What is the key?
Cryptocurrencies are usually stored in a digital purse (the so-called "wallet", a small app). This app generates a key pair consisting of a private and a public key. The public key is converted into a public address - the «account number» that is visible to everyone. The private key is not disclosed. It is part of a digital signature with which every transaction is to be signed. The almost infinite number of possible keys makes it almost impossible to find one. If the private keys are lost, for example because the computer is stolen, the bitcoins are also lost. Some investors therefore print out their keys and keep them in a safe - as a "paper wallet".
Are there any other Nakamoto candidates?
Without clear evidence, speculations about Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity are likely to persist in the crypto community. There are quite a few of them. A month ago, for example, the American-German investor Peter Thiel announced that he and Satoshi had been on a beach on the Caribbean island of Anguilla in February 2000.
There were also rumors that Tesla founder Elon Musk might be behind the invention of bitcoin. The reasoning was a bit strange: Satoshi Nakamoto was an anagram of "A man took a shit", and that was "typical" of Musk's humor. Musk himself, however, described the assumption as ridiculous.
Nakamoto identity is still unknown