Journalist John Carreyrou published an investigation in which he ties the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto to British cryptographer Adam Back. He analyzed cypherpunk archives, early developers’ correspondence, and Satoshi’s own writings. The cryptographer denies any involvement.
Carreyrou compared Satoshi’s writing style, terminology, and technical ideas with Back’s publications. The analysis included thousands of messages from cryptography mailing lists, as well as emails disclosed during the case against Craig Wright.
What the Journalist Found
Back is the creator of Hashcash, a system that underpins Bitcoin’s mining process. Satoshi referenced it in the white paper. The journalist also pointed to similarities in rare terminology, grammar, and the mixing of British and American English.
In addition, Back had already described a model of digital money in the late 1990s built on the same principles as Bitcoin.
“He described almost all the key elements of Bitcoin ten years before its launch,” Carreyrou notes.
Behavior and Timing
Carreyrou also highlights Back’s activity. During Bitcoin’s launch period, he was absent from discussions, even though he had previously written regularly about digital money. He only became publicly involved in the ecosystem after Satoshi disappeared in 2011.
“Someone who had promoted digital money ideas for years ignored their first working implementation,” the journalist writes.
Later, Back went on to become a key figure in the industry and founded Blockstream.
Back’s Response
During a personal meeting, Back rejected the journalist’s conclusions and called them coincidences.
“This is not me. Coincidences don’t mean anything,” he said.
Carreyrou emphasizes that his conclusion is based on a collection of circumstantial evidence. The only definitive proof would be access to early Bitcoin keys, which the presumed Satoshi Nakamoto has never used.
Read also: