Ledgible Logo
BLOG
September 9, 2022

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the unknown person or persons who designed bitcoin and created its original reference implementation. As part of the implementation, they also devised the first blockchain database. Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym, and little else is known about the person or persons behind the name. They are believed to be of Japanese origin.

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries. Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto and released as open-source software in 2009.

Bitcoins are a type of virtual currency. They're generated as an incentive for something known as mining. They may be converted to different currencies, items, and services. According to research from the University of Cambridge, over 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users used a cryptocurrency wallet in 2017, with bitcoin being the most popular choice.

Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the creator or creators of Bitcoin. Their identity has never been revealed and it is not certain if Nakamoto is an individual person or a group of people. The name first appeared in a white paper that was published in October 2008 which proposed Bitcoin as "a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution."

The white paper also included the now famous line: "The root problem with conventional currencies is all the trust that's required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust."

Nakamoto released the first version of the Bitcoin software client in early 2009 and continued to work on the project until 2010 when he handed over control of the code repository to Gavin Andresen. Nakamoto is believed to have mined approximately one million bitcoins before disappearing in 2010, although no one knows for sure as no one has been able to track down Nakamoto or their bitcoins.

Andresen became the lead developer at the Bitcoin Foundation and is still heavily involved in the development of Bitcoin. He has stated that he is not Satoshi Nakamoto and that he does not know who Nakamoto is.

In April 2014, Newsweek claimed to have found Satoshi Nakamoto living in California. However, the man they identified, Dorian S. Nakamoto, denied any involvement in Bitcoin and requested that his name be removed from the article.

The search for Satoshi Nakamoto continues and it is possible that we may never know who they are or what their motivations were for creating Bitcoin. However, despite the mystery surrounding its origins, Bitcoin has gone on to become the most popular and well-known cryptocurrency in the world.

Jacques Potts - Sr. Marketing Manager at Ledgible and experienced financial author, marketer, and crypto expert. His work has been featured on The Street, Project Serum, FirstTrade, and Invstr.
« Back to Blog
Newsletter Form
wall street blockchain alliance logoaccounting blockchain coalition logoAICPA Logo
cross linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram