Jeff Garzik, a Bitcoin pioneer, had a correspondence with a Satoshi Nakamoto, before the founder of Bitcoin disappeared years ago. Garzik doubts Satoshi has appeared again.
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When an internet posting Sunday claimed to come from Satoshi and promised to reveal his or her true identity on Tuesday, Garzik read it. His verdict was that the writing style doesn’t strike him as the same. In an even more surprising twist, the writer of the posted on Monday that he’s a Pakistani national living in the U.K. who has changed his name to James Caan from Bilal Khalid. He published the last two of his planned posts because of the “overwhelming interest we've received.”
Jeff Garzik
Garzik told that the first post contained only publicly available information, who says he hears from would-be Satoshis periodically.
Garzik said: “I get this (a new fraud) every couple of months”. “Ordinarily it’s either information, or it’s a typical scam: ‘All my Bitcoins are locked up, send me some of yours.’” Multiple people have claimed to be Satoshi over the years, while many others have been pointed to as possible Bitcoin creators. Australian scientist Craig Wright is currently involved in several court cases that could help prove or disprove his claim.
An easy way to settle the controversy is for the supposed Satoshi to apply a digital signature only the genuine Bitcoin founder knows. No one has so far, including today’s poster. The signature can be used on messages.
“The litmus test is always pretty definite and easy to prove or disprove, it’s signing something with a digital signature,” said Garzik, co-founder of Bloq, which develops blockchain technology for use by companies.
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Billions are potentially riding on the real identity of Satoshi. The Bitcoin creator likely owns about $10 billion Bitcoins based on current prices, casting great sway over the market. But he or she hasn’t posted a forum message or emailed anyone since 2010.
Caan said his BTCs were missed after a computer malfunction led to a loss of the computer's hard drive, storing them.