KEY POINTS
- Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s anonymous creator, owns over 1 million BTC, worth over $70 billion.
- A new HBO documentary is one of several investigations that claim to have uncovered Satoshi’s true identity.
- If Satoshi ever sold those coins, it could seriously disrupt the crypto market.
A recent HBO documentary says it has uncovered the identity of Bitcoin’s creator, the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. It’s a bold claim, particularly as Peter Todd — the person named by the documentary creators — vehemently denies it.
If you are considering buying Bitcoin (or already own it), you might wonder what all the fuss is about and question whether it matters. The answer is yes, it does matter. Satoshi may not be involved with Bitcoin today, but the founding figure is believed to own a significant amount of the currency. So much so that selling even a fraction of it could destabilize the whole market.
Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up?
Bitcoin was developed over 15 years ago as a way to take central banks and other middlemen out of financial transactions. The whitepaper that set out the philosophy and technology behind blockchain was authored by Satoshi Nakamoto, who also mined the first block on the Bitcoin ledger.
A few years later, Satoshi disappeared. The last official message from Satoshi on the Bitcoin forum came in 2010. An email in 2011 said the creator had moved on to other things. That was the last anyone heard from Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious figure behind the world’s first digital currency.
There have been several high-profile unmaskings of Satoshi over the years, and none of them have stuck. Most recently, in Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, director Cullen Hoback names a Canadian developer called Peter Todd. Todd says he is not Satoshi and strenuously denies the documentary’s claims.
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Why Bitcoin’s anonymous founder matters
Cryptocurrency is now an almost $2.4 trillion industry that becomes more mainstream with each passing month. As such, it is somewhat incredible that the identity of the founder — or founders — remains a mystery.
It’s understandable that Satoshi would want to stay off the radar. The mix of transparency and anonymity is a key part of Bitcoin’s ethos. There’s an idea that we should be able to make transactions without the oversight of governments or banks. Plus, the blockchain was designed to be consensus-driven and, by removing the figurehead, Satoshi’s disappearance made that possible.
Blockchain experts believe Satoshi could hold as much as 1.1 million BTC. That’s about 5% of the total BTC in circulation sitting in a wallet that hasn’t been touched since Bitcoin was born. Arkham Intelligence, a company that specializes in de-anonymizing the blockchain, has traced the coins to over 22,000 addresses.
Given that Bitcoin is trading at around $67,000 right now, Satoshi’s holdings translate to over $73 billion. This puts Satoshi among the richest people on the planet — on paper, at least.
As an investor, that’s concerning. If Satoshi ever decided to sell those coins, it would send shockwaves through the market. There’s some reassurance in the fact that those funds have not been touched. But it’s still another risk for Bitcoin investors to be aware of.
Crypto investing is about minimizing risk
Cryptocurrencies have generated incredible returns over the past decade. The potential to earn outsized returns makes Bitcoin and other digital currencies attractive to investors. On the flip side, cryptocurrency can be extremely volatile and there is a risk that prices could fall to zero.
As an investor, Satoshi’s Bitcoin stash is one of many risks to be aware of. That’s why some suggest the very act of revealing Satoshi’s identity could be poking the hornet’s nest. Not only could it cause problems for Bitcoin’s creator, it could also trigger the sale of some of that huge pile of Bitcoin.
It’s important to be aware of the changing regulatory landscape and the evolution of the underlying technology. We don’t know how the technology will unfold, nor what impact increased regulation might have on investors. Another concern is the crypto exchanges themselves. As we saw with the collapse of FTX and other platforms, there is not much investor protection in crypto right now.
If you want to buy cryptocurrency, make sure you use a reputable exchange or brokerage. For example, Robinhood is a crypto broker that keeps the majority of digital assets offline in cold storage.
Bottom line
Ultimately, what matters more than Satoshi’s identity is the fact that a single person could control a stash of 1.1 million BTC, worth tens of billions of dollars. One of the best ways you can minimize your risk is to only invest money you can afford to lose and ensure that crypto only makes up a small part of your portfolio.
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