Back in 2012, bitcoin’s shadowy creator had claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan, according to a profile posted online.
Yet critics cast doubt on this hypothesis, citing Satoshi Nakamoto’s excellent English and typically British turns of phrase.
Nick Szabo
Szabo, a US computer scientist of Hungarian origin, was among the early adopters of decentralised cryptocurrencies and was named by a blogger in 2013 as a possible candidate to have created bitcoin.
However, industry insiders argue that there is no tangible proof that he is Satoshi, beyond circumstantial evidence.
Craig Wright
Wright has been on trial this week at London’s High Court, with proceedings expected to last until mid-March.
The enigmatic Australian programmer describes himself on X as “Creator of Bitcoin” and insists he has the required skills and knowledge to have invented it.
Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit organisation set up to keep cryptocurrency technology free from patents, is suing Wright over his claims first made in 2016.
COPA accuses Wright, nicknamed ‘Faketoshi’ by detractors, of lying about his identity and of forging and manipulating documents.
Wright has been involved in a number of lawsuits brought by himself, but this time around is being asked to defend himself.
Elon Musk
The richest man in the world has also been in the frame, after a former intern at his SpaceX company wrote a series of articles speculating that Satoshi was in fact Musk.
The ex-intern, writing on Medium website, claimed the billionaire uses similar language and expressions to those given by Satoshi, adding that a close colleague of Musk seemed too embarrassed to discuss it.