The digital market in 2021 is represented by more than 7 thousand coins and tokens. In addition to cryptocurrencies, there are smart contracts, decentralized finance, and virtual metacities. Tokenization has touched art, copyright, and notarial documents. Blockchain has a great future, even if coins do not become the dominant means of payment, defeating fiat money. At the beginning of all this is bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency created by Satoshi Nakamoto, an unknown person or group. There are different versions about who this developer is. One also wonders who bitcoin belongs to, who is behind the cryptocurrency, and what is the name of the owner of the first coin. There are no exact answers to these questions, there are only versions and speculations.
Theories about who created bitcoin
One thing is certain – between 2007 and 2009, a developer (or group of individuals) under the nickname Satoshi Nakamoto created the Bitcoin blockchain. The first virtual currency was implemented on it. But Satoshi didn’t come up with everything himself. He used the work of other people, including:
- Adam Beck – founder of the HashCash system.
- Hal Finney, the developer of the Reusable-Proofs-of-Work mechanism.
- Nick Szabo – creator of the idea of the BitGold digital gold algorithm.
These programmers and cryptographers are suspected of being involved in the creation of bitcoin. However, they deny their involvement. The identity of the developer and the first owner of BTC has not yet been revealed. Photos on the Internet and in the press, which are used in articles about the mysterious programmer, belong to Dorian Nakamoto. This is a real man, an American of Japanese descent, an engineer. He also denies his involvement in the development of the first cryptocurrency.
Who owns bitcoins in large numbers
Whoever the creator of digital money is, but now some BTC holders are among the billionaires and millionaires. Bitcoin had a capitalization of $1.1 trillion at the end of November 2021. The coin was worth as much as $60,000 at the time.
Satoshi Nakamoto mined the coins almost single-handedly in the early years of the cryptocurrency’s existence. Experts estimate that there are approximately 1,148,000 BTC in his wallets. At the current bitcoin exchange rate Satoshi must be a very rich man, his fortune is about $68 billion (as of November 2021). It is possible that the mysterious programmer is no longer alive, or he lost access to the addresses. But for now, the assets in those wallets are unmoving.
Bitcoin implies a certain anonymity. If a person doesn’t disclose his or her own possession of digital assets, it’s hard to associate them with a specific individual. Therefore, it is only possible to say who owns coins in large quantities. On the list are people who do not hide their control over digital assets.
Summary
It is impossible to say exactly who developed bitcoin. Many versions have evidence of the involvement of different people in the creation of the first cryptocurrency. That said, none of them have confirmed their attitudes. The only one who insists that he is Satoshi Nakamoto is Craig Ryan. But the man has not provided solid evidence, so it is impossible to agree that he is the bitcoin master.
For now, the main version remains unchanged. Bitcoin was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto. His identity remains unsolved, as well as his current whereabouts. Also the identity of 1 million BTC created after the realization of the network is unknown. Most likely, access to them is lost forever.