Masks away: cryptocommunity named 5 most likely candidates for Bitcoin creator

On October 9, HBO will release a documentary titled Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery. The filmmakers promise to unveil one of the greatest mysteries of our time: who is Satoshi Nakamoto, and where did he go? The film is directed and produced by Emmy-nominated Cullen Hoback, known for Q: Into the Storm (a documentary series about one of the wildest conspiracy theories known as QAnon) and Terms and Conditions May Apply (a documentary that explores how corporations and governments utilize the information provided by users when they browse websites, install apps, or shop online).

The individual (or group) behind the alias Satoshi Nakamoto developed the Bitcoin protocol and its initial version. Over time, this blockchain and its namesake cryptocurrency gained immense popularity, a portion of which Satoshi curiously never claimed. The concept was published in 2008, the first Bitcoin client emerged in 2009, and by 2010, Satoshi merely vanished. Before that, he removed his contacts from the forum and shared passwords with other developers.

Nearly 14 years later, the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto and his disappearance continue to perplex the crypto community. Some believe the father of Bitcoin has passed away, others think he is evading potential legal troubles. There are those who even suggest that Nakamoto is merely a marketing ploy, a persona created to draw attention to Bitcoin.

Interestingly, the wallets attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto still hold hundreds of bitcoins that remain untouched, despite their current value being worth tens of millions of dollars.

On the eve of the premiere, users on a decentralized prediction platform based on the Polygon blockchain — Polymarket — have identified their candidates for the role of Satoshi Nakamoto.

The majority (20.4%) believes it is Nick Szabo — a computer scientist and cryptographer known for his research on smart contracts and cryptocurrencies.

Second is Adam Back (10.3%) — a British businessman, cryptography expert, and cypherpunkCypherpunks advocate for the widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies.. Back has been known to correspond with Satoshi Nakamoto, and a reference to his publication can be found in Bitcoin's documentation. However, on October 7, Back stated that he is not Nakamoto.

The third most popular name is Len Sassaman (8%), a well-known American technologist and privacy advocate. Much of his career was tied to cryptography and protocol development. Sassaman passed away in 2011.

In fourth place (4.4%) is Dave Kleiman, who died in 2013. He was an American computer forensics expert, author or co-author of several books, and a regular speaker at security-related events.

With 2.3% of the votes, the final nominee is Harold (Hal) Finney — an American programmer who passed away in 2014. He was one of the early Bitcoin users and received the first transaction of 10 coins from the project's creator Satoshi Nakamoto. A fractional part of 1/1000 (finney) of the cryptocurrency Ethereum is named in his honor.

Paradoxically, the list even includes the name Craig Wright, who was deemed a liar by the court for attempting to claim he is Satoshi Nakamoto.