Bitcoin founder mystery continues: Is Stephen Mollah real Satoshi Nakamoto?
What's the story
Stephen Mollah, a flamboyant man with a long gray beard, has just claimed to be the real creator of Bitcoin. He says he is the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto. The revelation came during an event billed as "unveiling of the true legal identity of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto" at a London club on October 31. Several journalists had gathered to meet Mollah and question him about his identity.
Event details
Mollah's identity claim event
The event was attended by BBC News reporter Joe Tidy, who observed that participants were charged £500 to ask questions. The gathering started with a presentation by Mollah and organizer Charles Anderson, which featured a bizarre monolog about Anderson's supposed inventions. After some 40 minutes, Mollah took center stage in his unusual attire and declared himself as Nakamoto.
Identity assertions
Self-description and alleged inventions
Mollah painted himself as a businessperson, an economic and monetary scientist. He also claimed to have invented the Twitter (now X) logo, the Eurobrand, and the ChatGPT protocol. To back his claims, Mollah showed screenshots of Nakamoto's posts on a Bitcoin forum from nearly 16 years ago. However, these were considered easy to fake by skeptics present at the event.
Coin controversy
Mollah's explanation for not transferring Genesis coins
When asked to do a live transfer of Nakamoto's famed Genesis coins, Mollah said he didn't have the keys to those early Bitcoin wallets. He said these were split into eight parts and stored on eight different computers around the world. He even claimed some groups are attempting to hack his devices for this massive cryptocurrency stash.
Twitter Post
Take a loook at Tidy's post
I’m at a
— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) October 31, 2024London event billed as the ‘unveiling of the true legal identity of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto’. An odd set up to the pressconference as the organiser asked me to pay £500 to attendand appear on stage to ask questions ofthe billionaire mystery man. pic.twitter.com/3oTB6qX20U
Proof predicament
Mollah's struggle to provide convincing proof
Despite all his claims and efforts to prove himself as Bitcoin's creator, Mollah's presentation was met with skepticism owing to a lack of convincing evidence. He is the latest in a long line of Nakamoto claimants, including Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who was ruled not to be the Bitcoin inventor by England's High Court.
Twitter Post
How internet reacted to new Nakamoto claimant
Stephen "Satoshi Nakamoto" Mollah, ladies and gentlemen.
— Arthur van Pelt 🔥 ∞/21M ⚡ (@Arthur_van_Pelt) October 31, 2024
Again no signing, also can't code in C++, but... over 1,000 less forgeries as Craig Wright, I'll give him that. pic.twitter.com/WU1EtHvFAM
Recent incident
HBO documentary reignited speculation over Bitcoin's creator
HBO's documentary "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery" recently sparked intrigue by suggesting Canadian developer Peter Todd as a potential candidate for Nakamoto, Bitcoin's enigmatic creator. Todd himself dismissed the theory as absurd, even jokingly claiming to be Nakamoto during filming. However, the documentary's intense focus on him, probing his potential involvement, has led to unexpected scrutiny. Following the documentary's release, Todd has reportedly withdrawn from public view amid persistent questions about his alleged role in Bitcoin's creation.