The New York Times detailed a years-long effort to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious author of the bitcoin white paper, naming Adam Back, a London-born computer scientist and entrepreneur, as the likely creator. Back promptly denied being Satoshi Nakamoto in a thread on X. John Carreyrou unearthed similarities between Back and Nakamoto by combing through decades of old internet postings and analysing commonalities in their public writings.
Carreyrou confronted Back with the evidence at a bitcoin conference in El Salvador, where he described Back as reddening and shifting uncomfortably when presented with the evidence. Back said the artefacts that had led to Carreyrou’s conclusion were a combination of coincidence and similar phrases from people with similar experience and interests. Reactions to the claim varied, with Domer, a well-known Polymarket gambler, replying to Back’s post saying there is a 99% chance that Back is Satoshi.
Stephen Murdoch, a professor of computer science at University College London, said there is some indication that it’s Back, but there’s no smoking gun. Stephen Murdoch also said his bet would still be Hal Finney, especially because Finney received the first bitcoin transaction from Satoshi. The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains unknown, as Back has continued to insist he is not the elusive developer, maintaining the ongoing mystery surrounding bitcoin's origins.