As speculations continue regarding the true identity of Bitcoin (BTC) founder Satoshi Nakamoto, Len Sassaman has emerged as a top candidate on Polymarket, a popular prediction platform.
Len Sassaman's Death and Satoshi Nakamoto's Disappearance Dates Match Up
Sassaman, a famous cypherpunk and cryptographer who tragically took his own life in 2011, is being cited as a possible candidate to be revealed as Nakamoto in a new HBO documentary set to air this Tuesday.
Sassaman was deeply involved in the world of privacy advocacy and cryptography, conducting research in computer security and co-founding an annual conference for software hackers. One intriguing theory linking Sassaman and Nakamoto, put forward by Evan Leung Hatch, cites similarities in their work and their disappearance from public life. In his final message, two months before Sassaman’s death, Nakamoto wrote, “I have moved on to other things and will probably not be around in the future.”
Hatch’s theory is based on several factors: the incomplete aspects of Bitcoin, the untapped wealth of over $60 billion in BTC, and Sassaman’s work on PGP encryption and reposting, which are thought to be central to Bitcoin’s development. He even analyzed the timing of Sassaman’s late-night tweets, drawing parallels to Satoshi’s online activity.
This theory seems convincing enough for Polymarket participants, who give Sassaman a 47% chance of being revealed as Satoshi Nakamoto in the upcoming documentary. Sassaman is closely followed by Hal Finney, one of the early Bitcoin participants and Sassaman’s partners, at 15%. Other notables like Craig Wright and Elon Musk are far behind.
Despite his brilliance, Sassaman struggled with depression and neurological disorders and tragically died at the age of 31. The fact that his death coincided with Nakamoto’s sudden disappearance fueled speculation that Sassaman could be the mysterious figure behind Bitcoin.
The HBO documentary promises to reignite debate around Nakamoto's identity, but it remains unclear whether it will definitively reveal the answer.
*This is not investment advice.