Cryptic Crypto

Bitcoin’s mysterious inventor may finally have a face.

A New York Times report published Tuesday named British cryptographer and computer scientist Adam Back as the most likely identity behind Satoshi Nakamoto—the pseudonym attached to Bitcoin's 2008 founding white paper.

The allegation comes from investigative journalist John Carreyrou, whose past reporting led to the criminal conviction of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Carreyrou based his Bitcoin case on emails from the fraud trial of an Australian computer scientist—who falsely claimed to be Nakamoto—along with Back’s ties to the digital anarchist cypherpunk movement; Back denies the claim. 

Nakamoto’s true identity remains unconfirmed (over 100 candidates have been floated over the years), but the stakes are real: Whoever they are, they’re believed to hold at least $70B in bitcoin, placing them among the world’s 30 wealthiest people.

Verse to consider whether you’re steeped in Bitcoin lore or could not care less… “My days are like a lengthening shadow, and I wither away like grass. But you, Lord, are enthroned forever; your fame endures to all generations.”  
Psalm 102:11–12 (CSB) (read full passage)