Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
A UK court ruled that Craig Wright is not Satoshi. Nick Szabo and Adam Back are disputed candidates who both deny it, and no record proves who wrote Bitcoin.
- ✕ DisprovenTheoryCraig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto
- DisputedTheoryNick Szabo is Satoshi
- DisputedTheoryAdam Back is Satoshi
Bitcoin’s creator wrote under a false name, handed the project on in 2011 and went quiet. Since then a magazine, newspapers, a documentary and one man’s own claim have named at least six people. A London court has ruled on one of them. This case sets out what each claim rests on.
The question Who created Bitcoin under the name Satoshi Nakamoto, and what do the records show about the people said to be Satoshi?
What the records say
The documented story holds up: 13 of 14 timeline steps are Confirmed by the records (score 98).
6 theories checked: 1 disproven, 3 unverified, 2 disputed. A theory is rated by its key claim.
The New York Times names the cryptographer Adam Back; he denies it
confirmedCredible: two independent tier-2 reports. See the step
Down the rabbit hole
The ground line is the documented timeline. Each tunnel is a theory that branches off it; every chamber is a step, coloured by how well the records support it. The deepest chamber is the theory’s key claim. Tap one to open it.
Main timeline
Oldest first- Aug 2008confirmed
Satoshi registers bitcoin.org and emails the cryptographer Adam Back about a draft paper
The High Court’s agreed chronology says Satoshi acquired the bitcoin.org domain in August 2008 and, on 20 Aug 2008, emailed Adam Back, inventor of the “Hashcash” proof-of-work scheme, to check a reference. Back replied the next day, pointing Satoshi to Wei Dai’s “b-money” proposal.
T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[23.1]–[23.2], p. 13T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[255], p. 62 - 31 Oct 2008confirmed
Satoshi Nakamoto announces the Bitcoin paper on a cryptography mailing list
The post begins: “I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.” The paper, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”, is signed only “Satoshi Nakamoto” and builds on “a proof-of-work system similar to Adam Back's Hashcash”.
- 3 Jan 2009confirmed
The first block of the Bitcoin chain carries a newspaper headline
Block 0, the “genesis block”, is timestamped 18:15:05 UTC on 3 Jan 2009. Its only transaction contains the text “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”. The headline dates the block; it says nothing about who made it.
T1Bitcoin blockchain: block 0 (the genesis block)block 0, coinbaseT1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[23.6], p. 14 - 8–12 Jan 2009confirmed
Satoshi releases the software, and the first Bitcoin payment goes to Hal Finney
The court’s chronology records the software release on 8 Jan 2009 and block 1 on 9 Jan. On 12 Jan, block 170 recorded Satoshi sending 10 bitcoins, mined in block 9, to the cryptographer Hal Finney. The blockchain still shows that payment.
T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[23.7]–[23.8], p. 14T1Bitcoin blockchain: transaction in block 170, 12 Jan 2009T3Hal Finney, “Bitcoin and me (Hal Finney)”, Bitcoin Forum, 19 Mar 2013involved party: Hal Finney, a reported candidate - 11–12 Dec 2010confirmed
Satoshi’s last public forum posts
After press linked Bitcoin to WikiLeaks, Satoshi wrote on 11 Dec 2010: “WikiLeaks has kicked the hornet's nest, and the swarm is headed towards us.” The judge called it “one of his final postings”. The account’s newest post, on 12 Dec 2010, announced version 0.3.19.
T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[790]–[791], pp. 197–198T3Bitcoin Forum (bitcointalk.org): posts by the account “satoshi”posts 1–2 - Apr 2011confirmed
Satoshi hands Bitcoin over to Gavin Andresen and drops out of sight
The court’s chronology says that around April 2011 Satoshi made Gavin Andresen lead developer, and on 26 Apr 2011 sent him the network alert key. The BBC reports Satoshi’s parting words in an email were that he had “moved on to other things”.
- 17 Apr 2013likely
An analyst estimates Satoshi mined about a million bitcoins, which have not moved
Sergio Demian Lerner estimated from patterns in early blocks that Satoshi’s fortune was “around 1M Bitcoins”, and in 2019 put it “close to 1.1M”. It is an estimate, and a critic he quotes says the blocks came from several miners. Wired reported in 2015 that the coins “haven’t moved”; the BBC in 2026 gave the stash as “more than a million”.
- 6 Mar 2014confirmed
Newsweek names a California engineer, Dorian Nakamoto, as Bitcoin’s creator; he denies it
Leah McGrath Goodman’s cover story quoted him on his doorstep: “I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it.” The next day he told the Associated Press, “I got nothing to do with it,” and said the quote was misunderstood. Newsweek stood by its story.
- 15 May 2015confirmed
A New York Times book excerpt points to computer scientist Nick Szabo; he says “I am not Satoshi”
Nathaniel Popper wrote of “a quiet but widely held belief” that the best evidence pointed to Szabo, who designed a Bitcoin forerunner called “bit gold” in 1998. Szabo denied it twice, while granting: “There are all these parallels, and it looks funny to me”.
- 8–9 Dec 2015confirmed
Wired and Gizmodo point to the Australian Craig Wright, using leaked documents
Wired wrote: “Either Wright invented bitcoin, or he's a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did.” Within days it reported that blog posts linking him to Bitcoin had been backdated, and the story is now headlined “Probably Not”.
- 2 May 2016confirmed
Craig Wright publicly claims to be Satoshi
He told the BBC, The Economist and GQ he was Satoshi and signed messages for them in private. Gavin Andresen blogged: “I believe Craig Steven Wright is the person who invented Bitcoin.” The judge later found Wright never signed anything in public with Satoshi’s keys.
T2BBC News, “Australian Craig Wright claims to be Bitcoin creator”, 2 May 2016T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[43], pp. 17–18; [848], p. 210 - 14 Mar – 16 Jul 2024confirmed
The High Court in London rules that Craig Wright is not Satoshi and that he forged documents
Mr Justice Mellor declared that Wright “is not the author of the Bitcoin White Paper” and was not the person using the name between 2008 and 2011. He found that Wright “lied to the Court extensively and repeatedly”, upheld all 47 forgery allegations, and in July referred the papers to the Crown Prosecution Service.
T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[2], [7], pp. 8–9; [921], p. 226; [939], p. 230T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1809 (Ch), 16 Jul 2024 (form of order)[199], p. 52 - 8 Oct 2024confirmed
HBO’s documentary “Money Electric” names the developer Peter Todd; he denies it
Director Cullen Hoback’s case rests partly on a 2010 forum post by Todd that Hoback concludes was written by Satoshi. Todd told CNN: “For the record, I’m not Satoshi,” and said Hoback was “grasping for straws”.
- 8 Apr 2026confirmed
The New York Times names the cryptographer Adam Back; he denies it
John Carreyrou’s investigation compared Back’s writing with Satoshi’s, using AI tools, and pointed to his Hashcash work. Back told the BBC: “I'm not satoshi”, calling the rest “a combination of coincidence and similar phrases from people with similar experience and interests”.
Branches
Go down oneA branch is only as strong as its weakest step so far. The count is how many sources back each step.
“Craig Wright is Satoshi”
Is Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has claimed since 2016 to be Satoshi, really Bitcoin’s creator?
Wired and Gizmodo published on 8–9 Dec 2015 after anonymous sources leaked them emails and documents. Gizmodo’s tipster wrote: “I hacked Satoshi Naklamoto [sic]”. Wright made the claim himself on 2 May 2016.
- 88,051 YouTube views, Lex Clips, “Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto” (2021; against the claim) as of 13 Oct 2026 T3YouTube: Lex Clips, “Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto”
- 83,213 YouTube views, Kevin Healy, “Why I Believe Craig Wright is Satoshi” (2021) as of 13 Oct 2026 T4YouTube: Kevin Healy, “Why I Believe Craig Wright is Satoshi”
- 20,195 YouTube views, Valuetainment clip, “Why Craig Wright Is the Only Person Who Can Be Satoshi Nakamoto” (2021) as of 13 Oct 2026 T3YouTube: Valuetainment clip, Kurt Wuckert Jr., 2021
He signed messages with Satoshi’s early keys in front of witnesses
The BBC reported in 2016 that he “digitally signed messages using cryptographic keys created during the early days of Bitcoin’s development”.
The premise: disputedThe sessions were private, under non-disclosure agreements. Both experts at trial agreed the evidence “cannot be considered as reliable” to prove he held the keys, the judge found the method “very easy to fake”, and he never signed in public.
Gavin Andresen, Satoshi’s chosen successor, said he believed him
Andresen wrote on 2 May 2016: “I believe Craig Steven Wright is the person who invented Bitcoin.”
The premise: confirmedTrue that he wrote it. The court records that the parties disagree about Andresen’s later view, and that his own evidence shows steps needed to make his session reliable were not taken.
Leaked papers showed him planning Bitcoin before it was released
Wired and Gizmodo reported blog posts and emails from 2008, and a trust document for 1.1 million bitcoins.
T2WIRED, Greenberg and Branwen, 8 Dec 2015 (retitled “Probably Not”)“The Evidence”T2Gizmodo, Craig Wright investigation, 8 Dec 2015The premise: disprovenWired found the blog posts had been edited after 2013 to add the Bitcoin clues. The court found all 47 forgery allegations proved, including documents altered to backdate his Tulip Trading company from 2014 to 2011.
T2WIRED, Greenberg, 11 Dec 2015T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[921], p. 226; [924.3], p. 227
- confirmed
Wired said in December 2015 that Wright either invented Bitcoin or was “a brilliant hoaxer”
It rested on documents from an anonymous source and on blog posts by Wright.
StartStrength so far:confirmed· 1 source on this step - likely
Within days, Wired found the key blog posts had been backdated
The clues were “all missing in archived versions of the posts from 2013”, and PGP keys tied to him looked newer than the documents they were in.
▼ WeakerStrength so far:likely· 1 source on this step - confirmed
On 2 May 2016 Wright said publicly that he is Satoshi
Security researcher Dan Kaminsky said the proof he posted was almost “maliciously resistant” to checking.
= HoldsStrength so far:likely· 1 source on this step - confirmed
The High Court found his documents forged and declared he is not Satoshi
After a trial in February and March 2024 the judge found the evidence against him “overwhelming” and referred the papers to prosecutors.
T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[7], p. 9; [921], p. 226T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1809 (Ch), 16 Jul 2024 (form of order)[199], p. 52= HoldsStrength so far:likely· 2 sources on this step - confirmed
In December 2024 the court found him in contempt for suing developers again
It held, to the criminal standard, that a new claim he filed in October 2024 broke the court’s order.
T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 3315 (Ch), 19 Dec 2024 (contempt)[133]–[136], pp. 33–34= HoldsStrength so far:likely· 1 source on this step - disproven
Key claim: Craig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto
A High Court judge, after hearing experts and witnesses, declared that he is not. Wright is a party claiming in his own favour; the judgment is an independent tier-1 record against him.
▼ WeakerStrength so far:disproven· 1 source on this step
Bullshit meter
- Key claim: Craig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto. Disproven.
- Key claim contradicted by tier 1? Yes. A High Court judgment, an independent tier-1 record, declares that Wright is not Satoshi and finds the documents behind his claim were forged.
Fluff meter: possibly planted
- Can’t be traced to an original record. Absent: the claim traces to Wright himself and to documents he produced.
- First appeared from new or anonymous accounts. Present: Wired’s and Gizmodo’s sources were anonymous leakers.
- Coordinated identical wording. Not measured.
- Cited source doesn’t exist. Present in a stronger form: the court found the documents relied on were forged.
- Later contradicted. Present: the High Court declared in 2024 that he is not Satoshi.
● present · ○ absent · – not measured. Lists signals only. It never accuses anyone.
Personal interest meter
- Craig Wright, claims to be Satoshi; the court found he pursued that claim through legal actions in the UK, Norway and the USA. T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1809 (Ch), 16 Jul 2024 (form of order)[198], p. 52
- Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), brought the case after Wright’s lawyers asked COPA and its members to remove the white paper from their websites. T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024[46.7], [48], p. 20
“Has a documented interest” only, each one sourced. Never an implication of guilt.
Correlation meter
- The High Court judgment, 2024, the main record for the Wright theory, the agreed chronology of Satoshi’s activity (steps 1, 2, 4 and 6), and the 2008 Satoshi–Back emails at the centre of the Back theory. T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024
- Peter Todd and Adam Back, Todd was one of the developers Wright sued in the BTC Core claim, and Back gave evidence against Wright. Both were later named as Satoshi themselves. T1COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), High Court, 20 May 2024title page; [255]
- About 1.1 million bitcoins, the size of Lerner’s estimate of Satoshi’s early mining (step 7), and of the “Tulip Trust” in documents leaked about Wright in 2015. T2Gizmodo, Craig Wright investigation, 8 Dec 2015
- The 2014 Aston University study, named Szabo as the closest writing match and said its results challenge Newsweek’s Dorian Nakamoto claim. T2Aston University news release, 17 Apr 2014
Links to other cases appear once those cases exist.
Who worked on this
This case was assembled by the site from public records. Contributions are not open yet. Nothing here is invented, so the counts are zero.
This is the first published version of the case.
Sources
- T1Satoshi Nakamoto, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”, the Bitcoin white paper, as hosted at bitcoin.org. The PDF carries no date; its release date comes from the mailing-list post (METZ) and the court’s chronology (COPA). Read 13 Oct 2026.. bitcoin.org
- T1Satoshi Nakamoto, “Bitcoin P2P e-cash paper”, post to the Cryptography Mailing List (metzdowd.com), Fri 31 Oct 2008 14:10 EDT. The list archive’s own copy of the announcement.. www.metzdowd.com
- T1Bitcoin block 0, hash 000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f, and its coinbase transaction 4a5e1e4b…a33b. Raw data read through the Blockstream block explorer API on 13 Oct 2026 (timestamp 1231006505; coinbase text decoded from hex).. blockstream.info
- T1Bitcoin transaction f4184fc5…9e16 in block 170 (block time 12 Jan 2009, 03:30 UTC), which spends the 50-bitcoin reward of block 9. Read through the Blockstream block explorer API on 13 Oct 2026.. blockstream.info
- T3“Latest posts of: satoshi”, Bitcoin Forum profile page for the account “satoshi” (user 3), read 13 Oct 2026. The forum’s own record of the account’s posts; the newest is dated 12 Dec 2010.. bitcointalk.org
- T3involved party: Hal Finney, a reported candidate Hal Finney, “Bitcoin and me (Hal Finney)”, post on the Bitcoin Forum, 19 Mar 2013 (last edited 25 Mar 2013). His own account of his part in Bitcoin.. bitcointalk.org
- T1Crypto Open Patent Alliance v Wright (and the BTC Core claim) [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch), approved judgment of Mr Justice Mellor, High Court of England and Wales, Intellectual Property List, 20 May 2024 (the Identity Issue trial; declarations first given in open court on 14 Mar 2024). Read in full from the judiciary.uk PDF. Page numbers are the judgment’s own.. www.judiciary.uk
- T1Crypto Open Patent Alliance v Wright and related claims [2024] EWHC 1809 (Ch), judgment of Mr Justice Mellor on the form of order in five Bitcoin cases, 16 Jul 2024. Read from the judiciary.uk PDF.. www.judiciary.uk
- T1Crypto Open Patent Alliance v Wright [2024] EWHC 3315 (Ch), approved judgment of Mr Justice Mellor on liability for contempt, 19 Dec 2024. Read from the judiciary.uk PDF.. www.judiciary.uk
- T2“The long search for Satoshi Nakamoto”, BBC News, published 2 May 2016. www.bbc.co.uk
- T2“Australian Craig Wright claims to be Bitcoin creator”, BBC News, published 2 May 2016. www.bbc.co.uk
- T3Sergio Demian Lerner, “The Well Deserved Fortune of Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin creator, Visionary and Genius”, Bitslog blog, posted 17 Apr 2013. An analyst’s own estimate, not peer-reviewed.. bitslog.com
- T3Sergio Demian Lerner, “The Return of the Deniers and the Revenge of Patoshi”, Bitslog blog, posted 16 Apr 2019. Revises his estimate and quotes a critic.. bitslog.com
- T2Andy Greenberg and Gwern Branwen, first published 8 Dec 2015 as “Bitcoin’s Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Is Probably This Unknown Australian Genius”; now titled “Is Bitcoin's Creator this Unknown Australian Genius? Probably Not (Updated)”, with an editor’s note of 30 Apr 2019. WIRED.. www.wired.com
- T2Andy Greenberg, “New Clues Suggest Craig Wright, Suspected Bitcoin Creator, May Be a Hoaxer”, WIRED, 11 Dec 2015. www.wired.com
- T2“This Australian Says He and His Dead Friend Invented Bitcoin”, Gizmodo, originally published 8 Dec 2015 (republished with a note on 2 May 2016). Based on leaked emails and documents from an anonymous source.. gizmodo.com
- T2Leah McGrath Goodman, “The Face Behind Bitcoin”, Newsweek, published 6 Mar 2014 (updated 2 May 2016), with Dorian Nakamoto’s statement of 19 Mar 2014 appended. www.newsweek.com
- T2“A California man named Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto denies having anything to do with Bitcoin”, AP Archive, story dated 7 Mar 2014, uploaded to YouTube 3 Aug 2015. The AP story text was read from the video description; the video itself was not watched.. www.youtube.com
- T2Aston University, “Likely author of original Bitcoin paper? Researchers uncover linguistic evidence”, news release of 17 Apr 2014 on a final-year student project led by Dr Jack Grieve; read as published by ScienceDaily. Not a peer-reviewed paper.. www.sciencedaily.com
- T2Daniel Roberts, report on Nathaniel Popper’s New York Times excerpt naming Nick Szabo, Fortune, 15 May 2015. The New York Times excerpt itself could not be opened.. fortune.com
- T3“Nick Szabo Is Probably Satoshi Nakamoto”, Gizmodo, 15 May 2015. A short opinion piece summarising the New York Times excerpt.. gizmodo.com
- T2Jon Sarlin, “‘I am not Satoshi Nakamoto’: Subject of HBO documentary denies he invented bitcoin”, CNN, published 8 Oct 2024 (with an interview of director Cullen Hoback). CNN notes that it and HBO are both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.. www.cnn.com
- T2“Hunt for Bitcoin's elusive creator Satoshi Nakamoto hits another dead-end”, BBC News, published 3 Nov 2024. www.bbc.co.uk
- T2Joe Tidy, “Brit says he is not elusive Bitcoin creator named by New York Times”, BBC News, published 8 Apr 2026. www.bbc.co.uk
- T2Tanaya Macheel, “Latest investigation into bitcoin founder ties identity to Blockstream CEO Adam Back”, CNBC, published 8 Apr 2026. www.cnbc.com
- T2“British cryptographer Adam Back denies NYT report that he is Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto”, TechCrunch, 8 Apr 2026. techcrunch.com
- T3Jeff John Roberts, “The New York Times says it found Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin. Not so fast”, Fortune, 8 Apr 2026. An editor’s commentary.. fortune.com
- T4“Why I Believe Craig Wright is Satoshi”, Kevin Healy channel, YouTube, published 29 Apr 2021. www.youtube.com
- T3“Why Craig Wright Is the Only Person Who Can Be Satoshi Nakamoto - Kurt Wuckert Jr.”, Valuetainment Short Clips channel, YouTube, published 4 Dec 2021. www.youtube.com
- T3“Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto | Vitalik Buterin and Lex Fridman”, Lex Clips channel, YouTube, published 3 Jun 2021. www.youtube.com
- T3“Newsweek's Leah McGrath Goodman Responds To Bitcoin Creator Controversy”, IBTimesTV channel, YouTube, published 6 Mar 2014. www.youtube.com
- T3“This Guy Accidently Admitted That He Created Bitcoin”, Logically Answered channel, YouTube, published 7 Jun 2021. Its description says Szabo “may actually be Satoshi Nakamoto”.. www.youtube.com
- T3“I AM SATOSHI: Bitcoin Creator Nick Szabo Confession”, BitBoy X channel, YouTube, published 2 May 2024. www.youtube.com
- T4“Is Nick Szabo Satoshi Nakamoto???”, Th3M0rn1ng5h0w channel, YouTube, published 29 Apr 2019. www.youtube.com
- T4“Is Hal Finney Satoshi Nakamoto???”, Th3M0rn1ng5h0w channel, YouTube, published 2 Feb 2019. www.youtube.com
- T4“Hal Finney and Satoshi were at a Crypto '98 conference TOGETHER”, Fooch channel, YouTube, published 5 Apr 2024. www.youtube.com
- T3“The Real Satoshi? Hal Finney’s Legacy”, Degen Reports channel, YouTube, published 30 Mar 2025. www.youtube.com
- T3involved party: HBO, which made the documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery | Official Trailer | HBO”, HBO channel, YouTube, published 3 Oct 2024. The description says the documentary premieres 8 Oct.. www.youtube.com
- T3“What's REALLY Wrong with HBO's Bitcoin Documentary”, Swan Bitcoin channel, YouTube, published 9 Oct 2024 (critical of the film). www.youtube.com
- T3“Is Peter Todd the Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto? We talk evidence and Peter's behavior.”, People Who Read People: A Behavior Podcast channel, YouTube, published 17 Oct 2024. www.youtube.com
- T3“Adam Back is Satoshi Nakamoto | Charles Hoskinson and Lex Fridman”, Lex Clips channel, YouTube, published 20 Jun 2021. www.youtube.com
- T4“Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? Mystery Unfolded. Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream IS SATOSHI NAKAMOTO!”, D J channel, YouTube, published 11 May 2020. www.youtube.com
- T3involved party: The New York Times, which published the investigation “Unmasking the Creator of Bitcoin”, New York Times Podcasts channel, YouTube, published 9 Apr 2026. www.youtube.com
- T3“Adam Back Denies He Is Anonymous Bitcoin Founder Satoshi Nakamoto”, Bloomberg Podcasts channel, YouTube, published 9 Apr 2026. www.youtube.com
- NO TIEROur own query of the Blockstream API on 13 Oct 2026: the 50-bitcoin rewards of blocks 1, 2 and 3 are unspent; block 9’s reward was spent in block 170. A spot check of four blocks, not a count of the coins attributed to Satoshi.