At a much-talked-about event held at an exclusive club in London on Thursday, journalists finally got to meet the new figure claiming to be Bitcoin's enigmatic founder, Satoshi Nakamoto.
The Person Claiming to Be Satoshi Nakamoto's Computer Did Not Work at the Event
But what was intended as a historical statement fell flat, as technical problems and unconvincing evidence left many in the audience skeptical.
The event, hosted by organizer Charles Anderson, was expected to reveal Satoshi’s true identity and provide definitive proof that he created the Genesis Block, the original block of code that launched Bitcoin and the now $2.5 trillion digital asset industry. But Anderson and the self-proclaimed Satoshi named Stephen Mollah were plagued with technical issues from the start.
While reporters from major outlets such as the BBC and The Financial Times waited, Anderson and Mollah struggled with internet problems and were unable to power the laptop they needed. “You don’t have one of those three-pin plugs, do you?” Anderson asked, hoping for a quick fix.
Finally, Mollah took the stage and said, “I am here to tell the world that there is no one else in the Bitcoin community who invented this technology.”
Mollah claimed that “Satoshi” was an alias he adopted in 2007, but his evidence was far from convincing. When asked about his access to the reported $69 billion worth of Bitcoin under his control, Mollah cited “technical issues” and claimed he did not have the necessary access keys.
According to Mollah, the Bitcoin key was split into eight pieces, each hidden in computers around the world, reminiscent of the plot of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. He also claimed that he was constantly on the run from “mysterious groups” trying to hack his devices and track him.
The evidence presented consisted mostly of screenshots of messages allegedly written by Satoshi Nakamoto on early Bitcoin forums. While Mollah assured reporters that they were “time-stamped,” the blurry screenshots left much to be desired.
An HBO documentary recently suggested that Canadian developer Peter Todd could be Satoshi Nakamoto, but Todd quickly dismissed the idea.
*This is not investment advice.