My take on who Satoshi Nakamoto is

…and where he is right now

It’s one of the biggest mystery in the modern world. He created bitcoin. Stayed with it for a while and when it began to dawn, he disappeared. He cannot even be traced. Who exactly is this guy and where is he? I don’t know who he is, neither do I know where he is but I know some things that has to be true about him from what we’ve seen.

1. He is Asian

Okay, let’s assume at this point that he is a man. Why is he Asian? The name! I know that is not his real name but his alias says a lot. He could have picked ‘John Doe’. He could have picked any of the cool English disguise names. And also, did he knew outright from the onset that he would step away to be completely anonymously from the project? So, his choice of ‘Satoshi Nakamoto' was a natural choice. It was comfortable for him to be known as Satoshi Nakamoto. However, it can’t go more precise than Asian. Whether the name is Japanese or Korean doesn’t reveal his identity. That’s because that can be made to purposely mislead. The point here is that he was comfortable with being known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Also, his demeanor through those in contact with him via email shows Asian character and quite elderly (as far as I can tell).

2. He is a programmer

Of course, he couldn’t have created bitcoin if he cannot write a line of code. There are things programmers have in common; thinking in code lines, figuring things out in algorithmic sequence, etc. In his words, in his thoughts, in his actions, it has to be revealed somewhere and in someway.

3. He is one person

I know many now say that he could be a person or group of persons. But honestly, I don’t buy that group of persons myth. What if bitcoin had failed? The success makes it sound like it’s some mastermind that was involved. If his communication is consistent like they say it is, then he must be one person. Plus, what kind of group of persons comes up with a decentralization idea? Group of persons will likely want to keep the control within the group. Plus, with the bitcoin explosion in value; how come we never hear of any rift? When the issue of hard forks came in, the group would have disagreed and someone would have stepped up. Plus, when the man said he is stepping away, how can one person speak for the group? It’s easy to believe conspiracies now that bitcoin is successful, but ask yourself, what if it had failed?

4. He must be someone that can be discovered

I read recently about a programmer who worked early on with bitcoin and was in direct contact with Mr. Satoshi. The programmer said Mr. Satoshi dodged every one of the question directed at him personally. Not even the slightest clue was given. This shows something. He must be someone that the intelligence community might find interesting. It is either that he has worked in an intelligence unit before or his name can surface on their list. Perhaps he is someone presumed dead and likes to keep it that way. He is just too careful with being unknown.

5. Dead?

When he said he is moving on to other things, what were the other things? Just imagine, you came up with an idea that revolutionary and walked away at its dawn with no forward guidance. He handed over everything except his coins (and maybe he even did his coins also). Here is what I think, if it was like a terminal disease or something and he couldn’t give anyone his private keys to avoid being identified, then perhaps he created a path (like a puzzle) to it. If he is dead, then it says a lot about how he has stayed out of the bitcoin noise. But if he is alive and he’s truly passionate about his creation, he should be doing something to drive the adoption even if he is in an entirely different project (except if he is someone that must not be found). Trust me, all those claiming to be Satoshi are not him because …

6. He takes his anonymity very seriously

No pictures, no location, nothing! If he could be that discreet when the project was nothing, now that it is something he would even want to stay even more discreet. To come out before the world and declare that he is Satoshi is something Satoshi will never do. For some reason, being unknown was very important to him. That sends the signal that he is most likely not a very young person. And if he is, he must be the introvert of all introverts. Another thought is if he has another identity. Of course, he does! Satoshi is just an alias. But a widely known identity is highly unlikely. He doesn’t seem like someone who is in the system.

7. He cares about the financial world

Why 2009? Why the period of financial crisis? How closely does he know the finance world? How close was he to the financial empires? He must be quite knowledgeable about the traditional financial system. Maybe a working experience? One thing is for sure, the choice of 2009 was not an accident or happenstance. He saw his chance. He knew what an economic meltdown meant.

8. Nobody is yet to figure out who he is

I once read someone say that the CIA or something knows who Satoshi is. I don’t believe that. It is so untrue. Just fancy theories people like to believe. If the CIA knew, it would have leaked. (No pun intended). But seriously, it would have leaked. The CIA owes Satoshi no obligation to keep him secret. In fact, I think they would publish it publicly if they knew who Satoshi is.They may know him with his real name for something else but they certainly do not know Satoshi as Satoshi. He is not a criminal, he is a celebrity! Even if they have Satoshi in their custody, how would they get him to confess he is Satoshi? Ask him for his private keys? Plus, it’s not the CIA’s job to solve those kinds of mysteries. I mean, if I were Satoshi, they would get me into their office and still won’t be able to prove a thing. And if you believe they were so divine in finding things, they should find the Malaysian Aircraft that disappeared. So, nobody really knows who the man is.

9. He might be someone some very bad people are looking for

Maybe some people are looking for him to kill him because of what he has done in the past. Maybe the people looking for him are so vast with their resources that he cannot take the chance of being discovered.

10. Maybe he now works for a secret government agency

Perhaps he was relieved of his position, and then was called back. Perhaps they couldn’t replace him or something bigger showed up and they had to bring him back.

Conclusion

Founders don’t just disappear into the thin air. He wasn’t eliminated, he left. What kind of things (in the line of work) would appeal to someone who created bitcoin? Bitcoin was not successful merely because it is a great invention, rather it was successful because a significant bunch of the world embraced it.

What about the assumption that he is a guy? Well, that I leave to statistics. The chances of a woman coming up with that is very low. Women are mostly good managers but rarely founders. Of course, there are women founders but financial savvy, tech savvy, 2009, anonymity, creator of a revolutionary invention (via cryptography); the chances of the person being a lady is very low.

Where is Satoshi now? First guess; presumed dead, must not be found. Second guess; actually dead. Third guess: writing codes for a spy or intelligence agency. Fourth guess; closer to the blockchain world than you think (in another identity). But if in this case, we will know after he dies. There must be a way to reveal that after his death. Fifth answer: roaming somewhere (on the Asian continent) where it is easy to be anonymous. (Not because he is hiding, but because he is just comfortable with it that way). I’ll have to look more in depth at the things he wrote to be more precise.

P.S. if you are Satoshi and you are reading this, you can reach out to me. I keep secrets. But I don’t want trouble.

P.S.S. if you reach out and introduce yourself as Satoshi, I’ll know for sure that you’re not Satoshi.

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