Since Bitcoin was created, there have been numerous questions referring to who its creator really is. Popularly named as Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious man has disappeared in the last couple of years, after leaving Gavin Andersen in his place.
Four months ago, the Internet blew up with news saying that an Australian computer scientist known by the name of Craig Wright is actually the creator of Bitcoin. Numerous publications such as Wired and Gizmodo have showcased various forms of proof, but the community remained sceptical and wouldn’t buy the story at that time.
Recently, various sources point out that Craig Wright might make an announcement, meant to prove that he is Satoshi Nakamoto. Regardless of whether he ends up making this announcement, the creator of bitcoin would have to present some actual proof in order to convince the community.
Here’re some ways to prove Satoshi’s existence, according to a couple of prominent members of the industry:
1. Proof of ownership of the earliest mined bitcoin
Anyone trying to prove that they’re Satoshi Nakamoto would need to have access to the private keys needed to control the earliest bitcoin that have been mined. These particular coins were never moved, regardless of sometimes being worth more than a billion dollars. At the current market value, the cryptographic treasure, held in a series of addresses containing 50 BTC each is of roughly $400 million.
2. Possession of the genesis block private key
While the coins contained in bitcoin’s genesis block cannot be moved due to the nature of the coin, their owner should be able to sign a private message, as long as they hold the private key associated with these coins.
3. Possession of Satoshi’s early PGP key
When Bitcoin was released, Satoshi used to communicate with early adaptors by signing his message with a PGP key, needed to prove his identity. Proving ownership of the earliest key, attributed to Satoshi on a MIT-based server can be a step forward to convincing the industry.
4. Ownership of the satoshi@vistomail.com and similar communication abilities
Gavin Andersen, who is one of the few persons to have discussed with Satoshi Nakamoto, stated that to make a claim believable, he would have to see messages signed with the PGP key, alongside with a new emailed correspondence, in order to get a feel of whether the person making the claims is telling the truth.
For those that do not know, Craig Wright first came into the attention of the press following a collection of emails that have been leaked, consisting of transcripts, accounting documents, alongside with old forum posts that showcase a link between him and the creator of Bitcoin.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, do you think that Craig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto? If he does end up publicly discussing about this, will he be able to convince the bitcoin community? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.