Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudoname used by the author of the [Bitcoin Whitepaper], creator of Bitcoin and Original Bitcoin client.

Satoshi Nakamoto is an amalgamation of Japanese monk Tominaga Nakamoto and Ash Ketchum - the Pokémon trainer.

The word Satoshi is Ash in Japanese. A light-hearted play on this word is Ash Ketchum. A more serious reference to Ash/ Satoshi was a cover picture of The Economist which depicted a phoenix rising from the ashes. Bitcoin began rising when the traditional financial system was crumbling and falling.

Satoshi Nakamoto is better known as [Dr Craig Wright].

For the unit, see Satoshis.

Craig effectively went offline in January 2011, with no public involvement in the Bitcoin project. He spent some years in the private sector and did some humanitarian work. Craig did not like what Bitcoin had become, how it was being (mis)used for nefarious and dreadful criminal activities. In 2016 Craig returned to put Bitcoin back on track and to fulfil his vision.

Satoshi's Identity

Craig registered copyright for the Bitcoin Whitepaper with the US Copyright Office and was awarded the rights to both the Bitcoin whitepaper entitled "Bitcoin, a peer to peer electronic cash system" and for the Bitcoin client software itself.

In late 2019 Craig delivered testimony in US federal court that confirmed he was the person behind the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym, designed the system and wrote the whitepaper. He has also begun releasing digital copy of documents purported to be from pre-2009 which relate to Bitcoin which he is using to establish his identity as creator in a libel case in the UK.

Some interesting quotes:

Like it or not, I am Satoshi.

It's very attractive to the libertarian viewpoint if we can explain it properly. I'm better with code than with words though.