Does The Identity Of Bitcoin’s Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Matter?

You may be wondering what all the commotion is about and whether it matters if you are thinking about purchasing Bitcoin or already have it. Yes, it does matter, is the response. Even if Satoshi isn't actively associated with Bitcoin anymore, the original creator is thought to have a sizable portion of the cryptocurrency. So much so that the market as a whole may become unstable if even a small portion of it were sold.

Do You Think The Real Satoshi Nakamoto Will Stand Up?

More than 15 years ago, Bitcoin was created as a means of eliminating the need for central banks and other intermediaries in financial transactions. In addition to mining the first block on the Bitcoin ledger, Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a whitepaper that outlined the theory and technology underlying blockchain. Satoshi vanished after a few years. 2010 saw Satoshi's final official post on the Bitcoin forum.

According to a 2011 email, the creator had gone on to other endeavors. Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic creator of the first digital money in history, was last heard from during that time.

Over the years, Satoshi has been unmasked in several high-profile ways, but none of them have lasted. Most recently, Canadian coder Peter Todd is named by director Cullen Hoback in Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery. Todd vehemently disputes the documentary's assertions and asserts that he is not Satoshi.

Why Bitcoin's Anonymous Creator Matter

Today, the cryptocurrency market is worth almost $2.4 trillion and is growing in popularity every month. That the name of the founder or founders remains a mystery is therefore a little unbelievable. It makes sense that Satoshi would choose to remain anonymous.

An essential component of Bitcoin's philosophy is the balance between transparency and anonymity. There is a belief that we ought to be able to do business without the supervision of banks or governments. Furthermore, the blockchain was intended to be consensus-driven, and Satoshi's disappearance allowed for that by eliminating the figurehead.

According to blockchain specialists, Satoshi might have up to 1.1 million Bitcoins. In a wallet that hasn't been touched since the inception of Bitcoin, that represents around 5% of all the cryptocurrency in existence. The coins have been linked to more than 22,000 addresses by Arkham Intelligence, a business that specializes in de-anonymizing the blockchain. With the current price of Bitcoin at over $67,000, Satoshi's assets are worth more than $73 billion.

On paper, at least, this places Satoshi among the wealthiest persons on the planet. That worries me as an investment. The market would be rocked if Satoshi ever decided to sell those currencies. The fact that those funds have remained unaltered provides some comfort. However, investors in Bitcoin should still be mindful of this additional risk.

More important than Satoshi's identity is the notion that one individual may be in charge of 1.1 million Bitcoin, which is equivalent to tens of billions of dollars. Investing only money you can afford to lose and making sure cryptocurrency only takes up a tiny portion of your portfolio are two of the best strategies to reduce your risk.