The release of Satoshi's personal data

[gentlemand]

I think theymos probably knows satoshi's identity. Although it's quite easy to remain anonymous on the internet so it might not be true.

I see no reason why someone who appeared from nowhere on a cryptography board would ever let anything slip to anyone under any circumstances.

For all Satoshi knew Theymos might have operated out of an internet cafe and went off to dinner leaving the screen open or let his roomies handle PMs when he was off on a hot date. One person knowing who you are is infinitely more troublesome than no one knowing who you are, let alone more of them.

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[r1s2g3]

What about destroying everything that is not in public view and end the debate ?

[AverageGlabella]

What about destroying everything that is not in public view and end the debate ?

What if a user wants to come back? Whether this is Satoshi or someone else. I hate when email providers deactivate your account and don't allow you to reactivate it and delete all your data. That's silly to me when it literally takes up kbs in their database. I've lost some important information before because of this.

[acarli]

I've rethought this, and I won't be releasing the PMs in 2021.
I do think that there could be historically-relevant info in there, so maybe if Bitcoin has taken over the world in like 50 years and historians are clamoring to know more about its history, I or my successors could be convinced to revisit the issue.

The historical significance will be epic. Historians will certainly want to know more about the "father of bitcoin". If you are right, and BTC takes over the world in 50 years, it's fair to say that humanity will want to know as much as possible. I guess it's a matter of balance the potential damage from disclosing and the benefit of humanity. It's a big decision. I'm excited to see them myself.

...
Satoshi's last posts didn't look like someone who was going to leave the forum. There's a chance he's dead, he could have been hit in traffic. He could also be in jail.

On the other hand, if "Satoshi" was not just one person, but a group of people, it's much less likely they all had accidents. That means there was a reason to disappear into hiding.

That makes a lot of sense. It does seem like an abrupt departure. I read an article of Wright claiming he and someone else he would not mention was terminally ill, and this unmentioned person died. If he left the forum without any indication, then I doubt it was a terminal illness.

Super fascinating.

The Satoshi Nakamoto Institute is compiling a library of all known Satoshi emails, code, forum posts, and quotes.
https://satoshi.nakamotoinstitute.org/

[hilariousetc]

I think theymos probably knows satoshi's identity. Although it's quite easy to remain anonymous on the internet so it might not be true.

I see no reason why someone who appeared from nowhere on a cryptography board would ever let anything slip to anyone under any circumstances.

Well we could probably say the same for Ross Ulbricht  . I think it's relatively easy to remain fully anonymous if you set out from the start to do so, but it's also relatively easy to screw up just that once... or twice. Satoshi used tor if I remember correctly, but I'm sure there's ways that can leak your IP occasionally, or if the FEDs are controlling certain exit nodes maybe they can grab your IP somehow. You could further mask this though by using tor via public wifi, a proxy or connecting via a throwaway simcard. You can still screw up in other ways though, but if you're committed to privacy and remaining anonymous it shouldn't be that difficult. I think the biggest way satoshi could be discovered was if he was a person that was already public known in the crypto-sphere and his writings could be compared to that person, but if he was a relative nobody then that's pretty much impossible, and if he was somebody he would have probably been linked already.

What about destroying everything that is not in public view and end the debate ?

I don't think this should happen. As r1s2g3 said, it's possible (though not probable) satoshi could return one day and he may wish to find some information from his PMs (or maybe even delete it himself, but that should be left up to him). I'm sure satoshi was smart enough to not leave anything incriminating behind though, but even if he did then maybe fair game to anyone who did manage to get access to it.

[seoincorporation]

Haven't you heard?  Craig Steven Wright is Satoshi.

Haven't you heard?  Craig Steven Wright couldn't prove he is Satoshi. So, he isn't. Even a message with the bitcoin security keys was released at the start of this year to reaffirm that CSW isn't satoshi.

[Steamtyme]

satoshi: lol, no thanks scrub

If in any way Satoshi's PMs are worded this way, you should release them for a healthy dose of laughable enjoyment for everyone.

All I want for the BTCT 10 year anniversary is to have Satoshi talk like they're a founding member of TLC.

[eddie13]

I think if the gov't wanted to read Satoshi's PMs they would have just hacked them out of BTCT and Theymos would never know/have known (unless they wanted him to).

[vit05]

And the people who exchanged private messages with him. Did any of them ever decide to reveal these messages? Several emails and conversations have been published, and many of those help us to better understand why certain functions or decisions regarding Bitcoin.

Maybe some of the people who exchanged messages with Satoshi using the forum could post those messages.

[coin8coin8]

I believe that if some countries’ intelligence organizations really want to find Satoshi’s identity is possible.
This is not a difficult thing for the CIA, NSA，MI6, KGB, Mossad or other Intelligence agency.
Maybe someone is doing this, I even think that some countries may already know who Satoshi is, but for some purposes it is classified as confidential.
If Satoshi's identity is locked, someone who knows his identity may threaten him to hand over Bitcoin, and anyone who knows his identity may also be in danger.
Maybe Satoshi has been secretly imprisoned/killed, who knows?
Sometimes curiosity may not be a good thing. When you really know who is Satoshi, it also means you will be in danger. So I don't think we should do something like this, we just need to continue our bitcoin journey.

[jackg]

I've rethought this, and I won't be releasing the PMs in 2021.
~
I do think that there could be historically-relevant info in there, so maybe if Bitcoin has taken over the world in like 50 years and historians are clamoring to know more about its history, I or my successors could be convinced to revisit the issue.

So I can start PMing my secrets to satoshi

Why would you think some government would be hiding him and why would they be doing that?

I can think of a few reasons, for example: "Tell us where your private keys are or you'll be in this hole for the rest of your life".
Satoshi's last posts didn't look like someone who was going to leave the forum. There's a chance he's dead, he could have been hit in traffic. He could also be in jail.
On the other hand, if "Satoshi" was not just one person, but a group of people, it's much less likely they all had accidents. That means there was a reason to disappear into hiding.

I think he just took sufficient steps to remain anonymous. Probably not that difficult to do if it's something you're conscious of before the get-go. Most of us here after all are mostly anonymous but with a few additional steps most people could leave little trace of things that could be tied back to them.

I'm more curious why satoshi was hiding his identity from the start: did he know how big Bitcoin would get?
I don't think it's common for programmers to take measures to protect their privacy when they post a beta on SourceForge.

They could all have been in a car though? Then the team of satoshi could be taken out in one instant. It would have to have been someone who was known to have sufficient knowledge in hashcoins and data mining/hashing algorithms (although let’s assume they’re still alive). I’m starting to wonder how many people satoshi was, in his emails to hal and other people he always seems like he’s just one Pierson but the white paper refers to a we. I know at least one of the known bitcoin devs is said to look like they’ve co authored that white paper though.
He created something that’s sort of anti-bank anti-government. It’s orobably the reason why they wanted to remain anonymous.

@InvoKing, maybe he didn’t want to keep his bitcoins but needed to give the network a bit of a kick-start.
There are a lot of extremists against governments and central banks so he might have just been giving them a tool they could use to continue. Maybe he came back after the premise and is gosling 50 bitcoins now to this day, he’ll still make a nice amount of profit for his work...

[LoyceV]

They could all have been in a car though?

The true optimist Now you know, if you're going to create a world-changing cryptocurrency: don't carpool.

the white paper refers to a we.

That seems to be quite common in scientific papers.

[otrkid1970]

Satoshi was Killed By the Government or was so in fear for his life that he went into Hiding.

David Chaum creator of Digicash and Ecash wrote an article in 1985 and  and the Title says it all - SECURITY WITHOUT IDENTIFICATION: TRANSACTION SYSTEMS TO MAKE BIG BROTHER OBSOLETE

Satoshi BTC program Eliminated Banks,Governments and Rich Elites Which made him more of a target to the financial system of the world. His program put the People back in control of their own finances.

When you fuck with the powers and finances of the Worlds Governments you are bound to have an "accident" along the way.

[jackg]

The true optimist Now you know, if you're going to create a world-changing cryptocurrency: don't carpool.

the white paper refers to a we.

That seems to be quite common in scientific papers.

You can’t say you didn’t picture the scene.
Satoshi[0] I have got core running have you all got it working
Satoshi[1:5] Yes!
Satoshi[4] I’m hungry, fancy a (whatever satoshi likes: ice cream, chocolate cake, coffee)
(All get in a car)
(Too hyped from getting bitcoin core to work, the driver floors it and forgets the work on the road ahead)...
[they all survive obviously - I don’t want to be added to any registers]



Undergrads make the discoveries in science and their funding supplier or funding getter normally take the credit for it. It’s not malpractice it normally counts towards 1/14th of the undergrads degree...

[vlom]

(I still haven't read the PMs, BTW; maybe they're all really boring.)

you dont have to read them or make them public. but i think you should take care and not lose them.

[stompix]

Satoshi BTC program Eliminated Banks,

Looked out the window, no Starbucks, the ING branch is still there with its dam orange and blue lights
Slowly this has turned into another hunt for Satoshi topic with the usual "trust me I know who he is" proofs.

I can think of a few reasons, for example: "Tell us where your private keys are or you'll be in this hole for the rest of your life".
Satoshi's last posts didn't look like someone who was going to leave the forum. There's a chance he's dead, he could have been hit in traffic.

I think the chances for that happening when he left are slim but the chances that something really bad happened to him after that are far greater. After all, almost 10 years have passed and that's a lot, with that many accidents, crimes,  health problems and many others happening all over the place and not excluding he might have been in his 40s or 50s...who knows.

But, as far as the OP was concerned, the issue is solved....till somebody hacks theymos's mail

[DdmrDdmr]

I think if the gov't wanted to read Satoshi's PMs they would have just hacked them out of BTCT and Theymos would never know/have known (unless they wanted him to).

I’ve been going over @xtraelv’s post Bitcointalk history of hacks and vandalism, wondering if the subject PMs could have been accessed on any of the known 2011, 2013 or 2015 Bitcointalk hacks. In the referenced post, @theymos mentions that the attacker may have accessed PMs (in general) during the 2011 and 2013 attacks (during the 2015 attack he indicated that it was unlikely). Someone may (or may not) have the PMs without knowing what he has in his hands ...

[cryptohunter]

I think if the gov't wanted to read Satoshi's PMs they would have just hacked them out of BTCT and Theymos would never know/have known (unless they wanted him to).

I’ve been going over @xtraelv’s post Bitcointalk history of hacks and vandalism, wondering if the subject PMs could have been accessed on any of the known 2011, 2013 or 2015 Bitcointalk hacks. In the referenced post, @theymos mentions that the attacker may have accessed PMs (in general) during the 2011 and 2013 attacks (during the 2015 attack he indicated that it was unlikely). Someone may (or may not) have the PMs without knowing what he has in his hands ...

It was grateful my hacker did not read my pm's I never put any info in there now that is valuable.
But for sure those PM's would be super valuable and of interest to many.

I am glad Theymos has decided not to reveal anything about satoshi but  if I am honest I would have liked to have read the pms, and would be hard to resist for myself just a quick glance over satoshis pm's if I was admin.

[OgNasty]

theymos is a man that changes his tune over time quite frequently based on the circumstances at the moment. A pre-2016 theymos quote is basically irrelevant today in most cases. A major change in thinking happened along the way and I think it’s highly unlikely theymos will release the information that he stated he would.

[PrimeNumber7]

Nobody could have predicted where bitcoin would go but I believe he did say something along the lines of (and I'm colossally paraphrasing here): In ten years time either nobody will be using it or everybody will be.

The actual quote is: "I'm sure that in 20 years there will either be very large transaction volume or no volume." -- Satoshi
The above is per what is on one of the factoids that are displayed in an ad slot in 10% of page views of people that display ads.

Even if bitcoin did not have the success that it did in 2012, there are plenty of reasons why governments would have frowned upon those who had created it, as in 2012 it allowed people to get around AML and tax rules. Obviously, now in 2021, bitcoin is much more successful than it was in 2012, and the success of bitcoin in 2021 is probably a once in a multi-lifetime event.

I've rethought this, and I won't be releasing the PMs in 2021. <>
I am concerned about the privacy of those who communicated with him. For example, kiba once said <>

Would you consider releasing satoshi's PMs with the sender/recipient anonymized? For example, if kiba exchanged PMs with satoshi, you could change "kiba" to a random handle. It would not necessarily need to be a random string in order to allow for readability. You could also redact things such as names, addresses, bitcoin addresses, email addresses and similar. When discussing amounts of coin an individual has, you could redact the specific amounts. You could also only release PMs that were received by satoshi up to x time after he last logged into his account, as I am sure that a lot of crazy things have been sent to satoshi since he left the forum.