Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic creator of Bitcoin, made his final public post on the Bitcoin Talk forum on December 12, 2010 (December 21, 2010). In this post, he acknowledged the need for further improvements to enhance Bitcoin’s security against Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. Following this post, Nakamoto remained in contact with several Bitcoin developers, including Gavin Anderson and Mike Hearn.
However, it is believed that Nakamoto sent his last private message shortly after this public post to Mike Hearn via email. In this message, Nakamoto expressed his satisfaction with Bitcoin and revealed his intention to work on other projects. This farewell message sent privately to Hearn on April 23, 2011 (May 6, 2011) marked Nakamoto’s departure from the digital currency community. In the email, Nakamoto stated that he had started working on other ventures.
Since then, Bitcoin has evolved from an unknown and controversial project to a financial asset with a market value exceeding one trillion dollars. It has captured the attention of governments, financial institutions, investors, and businesses worldwide. Despite numerous theories, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery, and the estimated one million bitcoins he possesses remain unaccounted for.
Based on the current Bitcoin price of 42,300,Nakamoto′swealthisestimatedtobeover42 billion. If Bitcoin reaches its peak price of $68,789 in November 2021 (Aban 1400), Nakamoto could potentially rank among the top 20 wealthiest individuals globally.
The enigma surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto was discussed in a Cointelegraph interview with Dustin D. Trammell in 2021. Trammell, one of the earliest cypherpunks involved in Bitcoin mining, deemed it unlikely that Nakamoto had previous experience working on any other electronic currency protocol prior to Bitcoin. Trammell justified this perspective by highlighting Nakamoto’s impartiality towards emerging technologies.
Trammell elaborated that in hindsight, it appears that Satoshi was not primarily seeking to solve a technical problem but rather addressing a social concern. Nakamoto recognized structural issues with the traditional financial system and focused on technological solutions. Consequently, it is possible that certain philosophical aspects were overlooked or undervalued, not receiving sufficient attention.
Despite Bitcoin not fully meeting all the expectations outlined in the original 2008 whitepaper, its established monetary policy has positioned it as an attractive store of value. Presently, Bitcoin is often referred to as “digital gold” by investors. It remains uncertain whether Satoshi Nakamoto will reemerge or if they are still alive at all. Nevertheless, the digital currency community has come to terms with the anonymity surrounding Bitcoin’s founder.