Do you think Satoshi got rid of his private keys?

[Sayeds56]

There are three possibilities:

1. He still has the private keys.
2. He does not have them or cannot access them (this includes his death without leaving them in inheritance).
3. He got rid of them on purpose, as a donation to the rest of Bitcoin holders. Recall his "lost Bitcoin is a donation."

Obviously I am referring to the million Bitcoins or so attributed to him for having mined them at the beginning. If Satoshi is still alive (or if they are still alive) I am sure he has a good amount of Bitcoin but that nobody links with Satoshi's name.

I think the most likely is option 3. Just as he started up Bitcoin for humanity and stepped away from the project I think at some point he purposely disposed of the keys to those Bitcoins, either for privacy, as a donation, or both. I find it hard to believe that someone as careful as he was would lose the keys and not have multiple backups.

In fact Satoshi Nakamoto is a mysterious character and subject of discussion and speculation on various social media platforms frequently. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, his identity could not be established, as of today he remains an anonymous person. It is possible, though I may be mistaken, there was a powerful entity behind creation of Bitcoin who is hiding behind Satoshi. The ultimate revelation may occur when the Bitcoin holdings associated with Satoshi's wallet are eventually moved or used for selling purpose in the distant future.

Until such a times comes, the mystery surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto and Bitcoin origins remains a source of curiosity for crypto community.

[BitDane]

Among the choices, I am inclined to think that it was the number 2.

2. He does not have them or cannot access them (this includes his death without leaving them in inheritance).

I do not think that Satoshi will just leave the scene of Bitcoin development because it is his project and we see how focus he is in developing his product during the time when he is around.  Then all of a sudden he poof and cannot be found anywhere.  I think he is not with us anymore since I believe there is no creator that will abandon his project unless he is incapacitated.  You can see how Hal devoted himself to Bitcoin development and even though at almost end of his time and  is physically unable, he use the technology to at least participate in Bitcoin activity until he pass away.

[serjent05]

I think no, Satoshi Nakamoto does not get rid of his keys.  I chose 1, since I know it is the basic knowledge to keep our private key safe, and Satoshi being the developer knows the importance of it the most.  I don't think Satoshi will wipe out his storage together with his private key just to show or say something.  No one will ever waste and delete the fruit of his creation unless Satoshi is scheming something.  And if he is scheming, he should have announced it to the public for more effect.

[Sayeds56]

I think no, Satoshi Nakamoto does not get rid of his keys.  I chose 1, since I know it is the basic knowledge to keep our private key safe, and Satoshi being the developer knows the importance of it the most.  I don't think Satoshi will wipe out his storage together with his private key just to show or say something.  No one will ever waste and delete the fruit of his creation unless Satoshi is scheming something.  And if he is scheming, he should have announced it to the public for more effect.

Your perspective on Satoshi Nakamoto and the necessity of safeguarding private keys makes sense. Even though we don't know who Satoshi really is. It is highly likely that the creator of Bitcoin well understood the significate of protecting the private keys. while most of the people think that he choose to stay hidden, some theories suggest the possibility of a constructed character to hide the involvement of strong organization or group that is behind the mystery of Bitcoin.

[fat buddah]

Well, that's kinda pointless discussion since we're not gonna find it out and that's all just pure guessing. And I think that Satoshi is dead by now. I hope he's not, but that sounds logical.

[DanWalker]

There are three possibilities:

1. He still has the private keys.
2. He does not have them or cannot access them (this includes his death without leaving them in inheritance).
3. He got rid of them on purpose, as a donation to the rest of Bitcoin holders. Recall his "lost Bitcoin is a donation."

Obviously I am referring to the million Bitcoins or so attributed to him for having mined them at the beginning. If Satoshi is still alive (or if they are still alive) I am sure he has a good amount of Bitcoin but that nobody links with Satoshi's name.

I think the most likely is option 3. Just as he started up Bitcoin for humanity and stepped away from the project I think at some point he purposely disposed of the keys to those Bitcoins, either for privacy, as a donation, or both. I find it hard to believe that someone as careful as he was would lose the keys and not have multiple backups.

In fact Satoshi Nakamoto is a mysterious character and subject of discussion and speculation on various social media platforms frequently. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, his identity could not be established, as of today he remains an anonymous person. It is possible, though I may be mistaken, there was a powerful entity behind creation of Bitcoin who is hiding behind Satoshi. The ultimate revelation may occur when the Bitcoin holdings associated with Satoshi's wallet are eventually moved or used for selling purpose in the distant future.

Until such a times comes, the mystery surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto and Bitcoin origins remains a source of curiosity for crypto community.

But do you think if we find out his real identity, will it be good for bitcoin or bad for bitcoin? In my opinion, his decision to remain completely anonymous is completely correct and benefits us all. So I consider it a blessing for all of us.

Bitcoin is designed to be decentralized and anonymous so what Satoshi is doing is completely right, it is good for him and for bitcoin. Try comparing bitcoin and shitcoin on the market, shitcoins all have public leaders and development teams. It's all centralized, other than being used for speculation there's no other benefit, so Satoshi's decision to remain anonymous is a good thing for bitcoin, not a bad thing.

[DapanasFruit]

The mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto will go on forever until we can be sure who and where he is whether dead or alive. I think for now we are already beyond the time when some fake people are claiming to be the real guy...we already know that Craig Wright is the Wrong one. As for me, if he is not dead then he is hiding his identity so well and since he has not touched any of BTC under his control then maybe he is not interested with it. Now, if he is dead then this is the end of the story though speculations on many facets of this man will continue to circulate for people's curiosity and entertainment.

[philipma1957]

Well, that's kinda pointless discussion since we're not gonna find it out and that's all just pure guessing. And I think that Satoshi is dead by now. I hope he's not, but that sounds logical.

I think we will find out and the group say CIA that developed it will rug pull BTC around 2032 or 2036 by simply moving the coins to coinbase and selling them off.  I consider this very possible. at least a 50-50 shot of being true.

I will be 79 if I am around in 2036  lets see if I am correct.

[Poker Player]

I think we will find out and the group say CIA that developed it will rug pull BTC around 2032 or 2036 by simply moving the coins to coinbase and selling them off.  I consider this very possible. at least a 50-50 shot of being true.

I will be 79 if I am around in 2036  lets see if I am correct.

It is not the first time I hear a similar theory, that bitcoin was created by the CIA or similar agencies, and in this case you do not mention it but it is said that it was to make people more willing to accept CBDCs, which seems to me a crazy theory at all.

Do you have any data or evidence to support it or are you just saying that because it popped into your head?

[hasitha lakshan]

   I think satoshi nakamato is a single man and he is still alive


   i also think he's a time traveler he got a idea to create a digital assets in 90s , that century no one have a time to spend a think and reading
    book with coffee these times people go to work  make some money

  He is still alive in his home , and binance owner CZ know who he is and both frends .

   ..



...

[posi]

Well, that's kinda pointless discussion since we're not gonna find it out and that's all just pure guessing. And I think that Satoshi is dead by now. I hope he's not, but that sounds logical.

I think we will find out and the group say CIA that developed it will rug pull BTC around 2032 or 2036 by simply moving the coins to coinbase and selling them off.  I consider this very possible. at least a 50-50 shot of being true.

I will be 79 if I am around in 2036  lets see if I am correct.

But I want to know, if the creator of bitcoin is the CIA then what is their purpose in creating a decentralized currency? Meanwhile, they are also working for the government and fighting the government does not bring them any benefits.

I've also heard this theory before but I really don't believe that bitcoin was created by the government or anyone working for the government because what bitcoin brings will harm the government's interests. I believe bitcoin was created due to political disagreement but it could not have come from the CIA or anyone working for the government.

[avp2306]

This is one thing I have said in comments in other threads but I think it deserves a thread in itself to comment on, even if we can only speculate. I have searched and I see that it is usually claimed him to have lost them as most likely. In a quora thread the voted as best answer is:

Statistically speaking, Satoshi Nakamoto is (in order of likelihood) either dead, in prison, incognito or not able to find the keys to his wallet.

My personal opinion is that he is incognito; I see him clearly as someone who lives alone with a dog, doesn't like doing housework, grows zucchinis in the summer, hates shoveling snow, has arthritis in his knees, doesn't own a smartphone, his neighbors think him odd, he loves buying discount books at the flea market on Sundays, he's active on the internet under a plethora of pseudonyms and will likely release some of his coins when bitcoin reaches $1,000,000.

There are three possibilities:

1. He still has the private keys.
2. He does not have them or cannot access them (this includes his death without leaving them in inheritance).
3. He got rid of them on purpose, as a donation to the rest of Bitcoin holders. Recall his "lost Bitcoin is a donation."

Obviously I am referring to the million Bitcoins or so attributed to him for having mined them at the beginning. If Satoshi is still alive (or if they are still alive) I am sure he has a good amount of Bitcoin but that nobody links with Satoshi's name.

I think the most likely is option 3. Just as he started up Bitcoin for humanity and stepped away from the project I think at some point he purposely disposed of the keys to those Bitcoins, either for privacy, as a donation, or both. I find it hard to believe that someone as careful as he was would lose the keys and not have multiple backups.

I guess this is mystery which make people curious to know about such situation since many don't know if Satoshi is still alive since until now no one can see his foot tracks or even try to see if there's something suspicious happening to the last wallet address use for his transactions. For now we can't find an exact answers regarding on this question but maybe we can get a hint if someone expose or that can point out that he moves a lot of Bitcoins before he reported gone to the scene and became a mysterious guy in world of cryptocurrency. Many want to find out his identity and his other past activities since maybe it can bring something good to current status of bitcoin.

[L4rs_]

I don't think he has access to his private keys, except he's very very rich anyway and doesn't care about money.

But I wait for the day he touches his wallet and the Bitcoin world is going crazy

*Probably it's also a woman, not a man

[Lucius]

Well, that's kinda pointless discussion since we're not gonna find it out and that's all just pure guessing. And I think that Satoshi is dead by now. I hope he's not, but that sounds logical.

Your logic sounds quite illogical, because if you or anyone else stops being active on this forum, that would mean you are no longer alive? I know several members of the forum who are no longer active on the forum, but it has been confirmed that they are alive and that for some personal reasons they no longer have the time or will to be active here.

I think that Satoshi has left quite enough unequivocal statements from which it can be seen that he did not leave suddenly and in a hurry, and the last e-mail that Satoshi sent to Mike Hearn is more than clear.

From: Satoshi Nakamoto <satoshin@gmx.com>
Date: Sat, Apr 23, 2011 at 3:40 PM
To: Mike Hearn <mike@plan99.net>
Subject: Re: Holding coins in an unspendable state for a rolling time window
 
>I had a few other things on my mind (as always). One is, are you planning on rejoining the community at some point (eg for code reviews), or is your plan to permanently step back from the limelight?

I've moved on to other things.  It's in good hands with Gavin and everyone.
 
I do hope your BitcoinJ continues to be developed into an alternative client.  It gives Java devs something to work on, and it's easier with a simpler foundation that doesn't have to do everything.  It'll get critical mass when impatient new users can get started using it while the other one is still downloading the block chain.

[Twentyonepaylots]

I don't think he has access to his private keys, except he's very very rich anyway and doesn't care about money.

Many assume why Satohi's address hasn't move ever since because he's dead, and that's what I believe in because it is the most reasonable one. He's too smart not to keep safe his private keys, if you invented something unique and you think it will change the most part of the world, you'll keep everything in your possession.

*Probably it's also a woman, not a man

No one really knows, he's under a pseudonym so yeah Satoshi could be a woman or a man. But anyone would agree, through instinct that he's a man *peace*

[Ale88]

I don't buy the theory that Satoshi Nakamoto is a group of people. A group would have much more trouble to stay silently hidden and make no mistakes which could compromise their anonymity.

The thing with being a group of people is that, usually, the more know something, the more the probabilities that someone, even by mistake, will reveal something. And in Satoshi's case, that never happened, he just disappeared and that's it, no one has ever heard from him anymore. And let's not forget another thing: greed. If it's a group of people at the beginning is easy to agree to simply forget about that money but when that money starts to become millions and then billions, how can we know that everybody will still be on the same page? Unless they really got rid of the keys I can image that there could be the possibility of an internal fight. All this to say that I agree with you, I think as well there is just one (incredibly smart) person behind bitcoin.

[uneng]

1. He still has the private keys.

That is what I think. And they must be very well secured somewhere only he knows. I don't believe he intends moving or selling his BTCs anytime soon, neither want to let it for heritage. Those coins must remain untouchable forever, decreasing total supply of Bitcoin available on the market even more.

Anyway, that is something we will probably never know with assurance. I just hope those coins aren't dropped on the market anytime soon, otherwise it's going to be a cataclysm for Bitcoin holders.

[WatChe]

The question is whether Satoshi was aware of the fact that Bitcoin will gain so much popularity over the time?
There are people who have have bitcoin in early days and they throw away the keys thinking its just a rubbish.
How about Satoshi one of such guy who has thrown away keys in 2009 or 2010, thinking that it's not a worthy discovery. Just my few Satoshis.
 

[Keawe]

I think Satoshi Nakamoto got an email from GA threatening him with the CIA and disappeared shortly there after.  Wherever and whoever he is he isn't likely to come forward with the recent prosecutions of CZ and the SF.  SF was just a fool who lost against the banks.  Apparently there was some major players behind trying to bring down FTX.  Cryptocurrency has already overtaken the major banking systems.  All ypu have to do is look at the names of all the major stadiums and sporting arenas across the us changing their names to Cryptocurrency companies and dropping the banks names.  He'll probably reveal himself in broad daylight in the form of something greater than even what he did with BTC.  It's also my belief that he was very young at the time he wrote THE WHITE PAPER.

[adaseb]

I don’t think he has access to his keys or he might of passed away. He would of been a billionaire if he sold his bitcoins and he hasn’t moved a single coin? Who has this kind of control?

It’s also possible that he mined for many years afterwards and is just spending his coins which are further away from the genesis block. Coins mined in 2010 were done by many miners and if satoshi was one of them it would be hard to filter him out. From time to time there is a coinbase block which is spent from those years and maybe it’s satoshi.