A year‑long investigation by The New York Times has concluded that British cryptographer Adam Back is the “most likely candidate” behind Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, reigniting a 17‑year search for the digital currency’s founder.
Back, 55, is chief executive of blockchain firm Blockstream and a pioneer of early digital asset research. If the findings are correct, he would control roughly 1.1 million Bitcoin mined in the network’s infancy a dormant stash valued between $70 billion and $100 billion.
The Times report, published Wednesday, said its reporters spent up to 18 months reviewing cryptography archives, forum posts and private emails. The paper cited four main factors:
First, technical lineage. Back developed Hashcash in 2002, a proof‑of‑work system cited directly in Nakamoto’s 2008 Bitcoin white paper. Second, linguistic analysis. Writing samples show British spellings such as “colour” and “analyse,” along with idioms like “bloody hard” and “maths” that mirror Nakamoto’s posts. Third, behavioral patterns. Back’s activity on cypherpunk forums coincided with Nakamoto’s period of public posting, while gaps align with key moments in Bitcoin’s early development. Fourth, time zones. A 2013 study of more than 500 Nakamoto posts found activity dropped between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. GMT, consistent with U.K. sleep hours.
The Times added that it “still had not established definite proof.”
Back has repeatedly denied being Nakamoto. In a post on X after the story appeared, he wrote: “I’m not satoshi, but I was early in laser focus on the positive societal implications of cryptography, online privacy and electronic cash.” He issued similar denials in 2016 and 2020.
Nakamoto’s wallets have not moved since they were mined and represent roughly 5.2 percent of Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply. Analysts note that definitive proof of the founder’s identity could challenge Bitcoin’s “leaderless” narrative, which underpins much of its $2.4 trillion market value.
Still, the crypto industry has largely shrugged off the report. “So long as the 1.1 million ‘Satoshi Bitcoin’ don’t move and Adam Back doesn’t claim it’s him, it doesn’t really matter,” said Alexander Blume, chief executive of crypto firm Two Prime.
Bitcoin was launched in 2008 during the global financial crisis as a decentralized currency outside central‑bank control. Past attempts to identify Nakamoto have named Hal Finney, Nick Szabo, Dorian Nakamoto and Peter Todd, all of whom denied involvement.
The Times report comes ahead of the U.K. documentary _Searching for Satoshi: The Mysterious Disappearance of the Bitcoin Creator set to air Wednesday night.
Back founded Blockstream in 2014 and remains a key figure in Bitcoin infrastructure development.
