What is this fascination with claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto?

[alastantiger]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

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[coolcoinz]

You might not remember how years ago everybody googled Dorian Nakamoto, but one of the reasons for every scammer claiming to be Satoshi is exactly that - popularity.
Dorian wasn't a scammer, but his case showed these people how you can use people's curiosity. After all, we'd all want to know who Satoshi was.

Have you noticed that whenever someone claims to be Satoshi, the press writes about it? You can be John Doe from Farmerville claiming to be the founder of Bitcoin and suddenly you're on Coindesk, CNBC, and so on... If you're notorious like Craig, you're going to be on Forbes, Wall Street Journal and invited to TV interviews.
It allows these people to make money because their social media get hits, projects that list them as founders or advisors amass more followers, they can promote all the scams they want because they have a popular name that comes up when you perform google searches.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

Do you think this are the only ones that have been on this together, there are many more we cannot even know or have the opportunity of hearing about their own story, have you even considered some few members from this forum as well claiming they are Satoshi as well, almost all of them were no more active now as before, do you also think that we are more concerned about Satoshi than the bitcoin itself, as long as the work he had made remains ever relevant, everyone knowing this should be more concerned about bitcoin and not about those claiming they are Satoshi because you can have a list of upto hundreds of them.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

They do this not only to become famous but mainly to have better chances to scam other people. By making noise and get attention of many people, they can become influencers, try to cooperate with scam projects and run scam fund raising, steal money from many victims.

Being famous by claiming as Satoshi Nakamoto is only a very small part and small reason why they want to take spotlight. They are financial incentivized to do those invalid claiming even they know they will fail. But by making noise, it's already enough for them because they think with noise, they will open some new gates for their career in blockchain community.

[mk4]

It's mostly just the fact that they have the financial incentive to do so — from running a fork and attempting to beat the 'main' fork(Craig Wright), to getting news headlines with their name with it(some of the dudes in the list). Unless the person is insane, it simply just doesn't make any sense to try to claim to be Satoshi without any financial incentive due to the risks(the government might suicide you).

[Odohu]

It is all about attention seeking with the intention to defraud people. There is a saying that "bad publicity is better than no publicity", so, I guess that is what most of them are doing... just to make headlines even though they know people will find out they are fraud.

In this age of social media, some people intentionally get involved in something amoral and terrible just because they want to make headlines... so I'm not surprised we now have many imposters claiming to be Satoshi. 

[Mbitr]

Here’s a pretty comprehensive list of faketoshis compiled by forum member xtraelv 

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5243791.0

Hasn’t been updated for a while and interestingly there haven’t been any recent claimants to be satoshi for a while ??
I used to thoroughly enjoy proving them wrong 

[franky1]

why? money obviously
if they can create enough drama with the hope to become famous, they then want to go on convention/speaking paid tours, sell a book or movie rights, or even try to do SLAPP(frivolous) lawsuits to scam money out of those who fall into court drama traps

some people would sell their soul, reputation and morals if it could make them rich

the funny part is they waste so much time on the drama of convincing idiots. that they are not using their time to actually accumulate bitcoin(wealth)

[RocketSingh]

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

Most in this list have already been outed as scammer... No?

[Mbitr]

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

Most in this list have already been outed as scammer... No?

Yep - only CSW hanging on to his delusions

[Davidvictorson]

the funny part is they waste so much time on the drama of convincing idiots. that they are not using their time to actually accumulate bitcoin(wealth)

For me, I think that these individuals already have accumulate so much bitcoin. Bitcoin is decentralized and not one person can rise up to say they are the founder and would be taken seriously. They want the money, the fame, the accolades and the donations. They can't have it.

They all have one thing in common a mental illness called Delusions of grandeur.

Patients with delusions of grandeur believe that they are wonderful, successful, more important than others, or even miraculous. They make assumptions that they have exceptional talents, possessions, or powers despite lack of evidence supporting these beliefs.
https://www.medicinenet.com/what_is_a_delusion_of_grandeur/article.htm

[Sophokles]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

To get media attention i guess. This will make them attractive marketing figures for media and news channels and new startup. Just imagine satoshi nakamoto(fake one who claims to be the original) is promoting a new altcoin or startup crypto project. Those project will get media attention and investors due to satoshis fame. 

There is nominal chance that original satoshi will reemerge from the ghost so i assume he is dead or has no interest in going public.

[pixie85]

If you go through what CSW has done you'll know what incentive these people have.

CSW became famous for trying to prove he's Satoshi and failing but his name became known even though it was infamous.
He then proceeded to make his own shitcoin and run a smear campaign and hash attack on the original bitcoin with the help of his friend Calvin.

It's all about the money.

[coupable]

Since the real Satoshi Nakamoto is hidden, and since it is not certain whether Satoshi is the name of a single person or a nickname for a group of people who may have come together to create Bitcoin, the idea of Satoshi Nakamoto will remain a means that anyone can use by claiming to be him to gain public attention. Fortunately, the Bitcoin protocol allows messages to be signed using the private key, so it is easy to prove the falsity of their claims, since no one among them or anyone else was able to sign a message from one of the addresses proven to be owned by Satoshi.

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

I think it is also possible to add Elon Musk to the list, since doubts were also swirling around him before it was confirmed that this was not true: Elon Musk Probably Invented Bitcoin

[Die_empty]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

Money should be the reason for these claims. They want to get attention so that they can become famous. After that, they simply monetize the fame by either founding a shitcoin, publishing a book, giving speeches and lectures, and sometimes getting funds from anti-bitcoin forces to attack the industry. I have read stories about some of them but I stopped giving them any attention because it is clear they are big-time liars. Charles Hoskinson claimed that he was Satoshi and when he saw that he had no proof he made a U-turn and said that he thinks Satoshi is Adam Back. Craig Wright is not yet tired of disgracing himself by his childish claims.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

People love to appear bigger than they are.
And often enough, people seek attention, there are many in this forum as well, haha.

But yeah, it's about attention, recognition and as a result of that, money.

People do everything to gain these things, even if it means to spread ridiculous lies about themselves. Some never have achieved anything in their life so they try to be somebody they never would. It's kinda sad.

[Upgrade00]

Most in this list have already been outed as scammer... No?

Yep - only CSW hanging on to his delusions

CSW has been proven to be a scammer in several occasions, he's just too buried deep into his own webs that he can't find which way is up.

[AmoreJaz]

Most in this list have already been outed as scammer... No?

Yep - only CSW hanging on to his delusions

CSW has been proven to be a scammer in several occasions, he's just too buried deep into his own webs that he can't find which way is up.

i don't know when he will stop about his delusions. maybe, when he finally checked in with a real psychiatrist and learn to accept the reality.lol
anyway, we may not know the real identity of satoshi in our lifetime. but it may be uncovered in the future. who knows?

[Smartvirus]

Most in this list have already been outed as scammer... No?

Yep - only CSW hanging on to his delusions

CSW has been proven to be a scammer in several occasions, he's just too buried deep into his own webs that he can't find which way is up.

You could say that again.
And CSW remains the one person that stands out with an unwavering claim due to the many lawsuits he’s got to file in trying to assert his claims and a few takes him serious for the fear of not having to go to court.

I for one feel there has been only one major reason in being Satoshi Nakamoto and that would be just for the game that comes with having to be the pioneer of a whole new means to how we handle finance. To possibly immortalize oneself in the creation that would go through generations but, how shameful it would be even in death to know at the back of your decayed heart that, it was just a claim.

Well, it doesn’t matter as bitcoin functions based on the consensus of it’s users.

[NeilLostBitCoin]

Claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto guarantees attention, even if debunked.

In my opinion, those who claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto know the dangers of such a claim. They know that investigations and arrest warrants will not be taken seriously since they can't prove their claim.

[Ale88]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

Some people are just attention seekers, it's stronger than them, they just want people to talk about them, they want to see their faces all around internet and television, no matter how much or how long they need to lie. Claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto is pretty stupid because the only way to actually prove it would be moving the first bitcoins, and nobody has been able to do that but these people just don't care and they keep pretending anyway.

[qwertyup23]

You might not remember how years ago everybody googled Dorian Nakamoto, but one of the reasons for every scammer claiming to be Satoshi is exactly that - popularity.
Dorian wasn't a scammer, but his case showed these people how you can use people's curiosity. After all, we'd all want to know who Satoshi was.

Have you noticed that whenever someone claims to be Satoshi, the press writes about it? You can be John Doe from Farmerville claiming to be the founder of Bitcoin and suddenly you're on Coindesk, CNBC, and so on... If you're notorious like Craig, you're going to be on Forbes, Wall Street Journal and invited to TV interviews.
It allows these people to make money because their social media get hits, projects that list them as founders or advisors amass more followers, they can promote all the scams they want because they have a popular name that comes up when you perform google searches.

So basically, the people who claim to be Satoshi are nothing but narcissists? That is what I am getting whenever I see someone claiming to be such- I mean, who would want to have that kind of popularity?

In all honesty, claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto is just nothing but dangerous. The guy has thousands of BTC which are not yet transferred from his wallet. Such person would just compromise their own safety and security for a short-timed fame which basically does nothing if they cannot prove their identity and association.

[Text]

Maybe they have their own reasons for pretending or claiming to be Satoshi, whatever those reasons may be, we don't know. Perhaps they just want attention. It seems like they want credibility in the crypto space to attract investors and followers. Some of them seem to enjoy pranks and trolling in the community.

The most famous among them is Craig Wright, but his claim has been debunked, and he has faced legal challenges for his impersonation. I don't know why some people take this seriously, as no one has been able to provide concrete cryptographic proof of their identity as Satoshi Nakamoto.

The true creator of Bitcoin remains anonymous, and his real identity has not been proven. Perhaps this mystery will remain unsolved.

[Ruttoshi]

So many things are involved but money is the first followed by firm and respect. Eveyone one knows what Satoshi has done and that is why some persons are claiming to be him, so that they use that medium to extort people through fake identity.

I will say that those persons that are claiming to be Satoshi are scammers, and every scammer can do anything to get whatever that they want. They might even go to the extent of opening a university and claiming that they are teaching people about bitcoin technology to deceive and extort money from people.

[LogitechMouse]

Money? Popularity? Attention? I guess.

I mean with our current era right now where they will do everything for the sake of fame, I'm not surprised that there are still people who are claiming to be Satoshi, and yet they can't do the one thing people wanted them to do if they really is Satoshi.

I guess we who knows the truth will just ignore these stupid sh*ts who are claiming that they're Satoshi right? I don't know their true intention as to why they need to spend their time, and money just to claim it.

[panganib999]

They do this not only to become famous but mainly to have better chances to scam other people. By making noise and get attention of many people, they can become influencers, try to cooperate with scam projects and run scam fund raising, steal money from many victims.

Being famous by claiming as Satoshi Nakamoto is only a very small part and small reason why they want to take spotlight. They are financial incentivized to do those invalid claiming even they know they will fail. But by making noise, it's already enough for them because they think with noise, they will open some new gates for their career in blockchain community.

I say that those who use the Satoshi Nakamoto moniker to scam people are more often the ones who don't get people behind their backs. You're underestimating the amount of things that people will be more than willing to do for fame and notice, and that's more often the clear-cut reason why people want to be Satoshi Nakamoto lol. There's little money to be made from claiming you are Satoshi Nakamoto. The only one who holds the billion dollars' worth of bitcoin he has is no one but himself after all. There's no reason for these wanna-be Nakamotos to also scam people, cause they'd be found out from the get-go from the sheer amount of press that they'll be getting.

What's funny to me is that the very person we're using as a placeholder figure for Satoshi Nakamoto hates being called that too lol. That's a better discussion in my opinion. "Why this guy became Satoshi Nakamoto" or something along those lines.

[oktana]

So many people have claimed to be the real Satoshi, and it’s not going to stop but trust me, when the real Satoshi Nakamoto comes, we will all know cause he wouldn’t even need to do a lot of talking. There’ll be a lot of evidence from about the time he created bitcoin. All these claims want attention which will eventually turn into wealth, I guess. Forget these claims anyway… let’s talk of Bitcoin itself. That’s all that matters right now.

[Woodie]

Besides the fame that comes with being identified as the real Satoshi...I think these guys are obsessed of claiming this identity because of greed of which they can easily monetize this fame and it all starts with selling the world a fake identity !! It might not seem obvious but several news outlets , brands , technology companies would want to be associated with such a name especially that Bitcoin has become a household name so these guys want to make an easy score.

[JunaidAzizi]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto......

As far as I go I think that these people just simply want to be famous and for that, they simply try to be Satoshi Nakamoto because they know he is the most knowledgeable person as he developed the blockchain and bitcoin system and gave them to the world. But these person does not how risky all this and as we all know satoshi is anonymous after some time of Bitcoin inceptions and maybe he did it just for the purpose of saving if he is knowable then he will face a lot of cases the banks, from the financial companies, from the individuals who lose their money in bitcoin, from the government to funding or use of bitcoin in illegal activities or maybe some persons target him just to steal his bitcoins. So in the possibilities of all this be he wants to stay hide and if some person wants to be stasohi and his claim is right then I think he will go all these throughs. These are just a few there are also many other cases through which he will go if he is knowledgeable.

[hd49728]

As far as I go I think that these people just simply want to be famous and for that, they simply try to be Satoshi Nakamoto because they know he is the most knowledgeable person as he developed the blockchain and bitcoin system and gave them to the world.

Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin and brought the blockchain technology to life with a first successful cryptocurrency but he is not a most knowledgeable person on this planet. Maybe he was in 2008, 2009 but years later, I believe more people can do better developments in blockchain for Bitcoin blockchain than Satoshi Nakamoto.

But these person does not how risky all this and as we all know satoshi is anonymous after some time of Bitcoin inceptions and maybe he did it just for the purpose of saving if he is knowable then he will face a lot of cases the banks, from the financial companies, from the individuals who lose their money in bitcoin, from the government to funding or use of bitcoin in illegal activities or maybe some persons target him just to steal his bitcoins.

Bitcoin is Bitcoin. 1 bitcoin is 1 bitcoin, forever. People lose money because they lost their cash, bitcoins to scammers in peer to peer traders, phishing sites. They lost it because they did not hold their bitcoin but use it to trade or worse use leverages and futures with trading. It's not responsibility of Satoshi Nakamoto or Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is not a scam coin. Satoshi Nakamoto is not a scam developer. They can not blame their losses on Satoshi Nakamoto or Bitcoin.

If they want to hunt someone, it should be exchanges that liquidated their positions in either Leverage or Futures trading or scammers who stole their bitcoin through scam trades or phishing links.

[Iroh]

There are various reasons but a common reason on why someone would claim to be someone he’s not. Selfishness. As the founder of bitcoin, he has influenced people with his work and unwittingly drawn to himself an enormous number of people who loves, supports and appreciates bitcoin.
There are people who has recognized the influence and respect Satoshi wields and wouldn’t hesitate to abuse and manipulate for their own personal gains which would definitely includes but not limited to money.

[Darker45]

Well, first, I guess they're all crazy. You wouldn't claim to be somebody else if you are completely sane. That's something that's unreasonable.

Second, I can compare them with those who claim to be Jesus or some deity. A crazy person won't just claim to be his/her unknown neighbor. He/she will certainly claim to be somebody who is great and respected. In the case of CSW and this group, they're somehow exposed to the idea of Bitcoin and they're completely fascinated. It's not a wonder, therefore, when of all people they chose to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

Third, it also helps, of course, that Satoshi Nakamoto is anonymous. The real identity/identities behind the name is still unknown until now. In other words, it's available. Hence, their claim. They can't claim to be Hal or Nick or Wei Dei.

[GreatArkansas]

Well, first, I guess they're all crazy. You wouldn't claim to be somebody else if you are completely sane. That's something that's unreasonable.

Second, I can compare them with those who claim to be Jesus or some deity. A crazy person won't just claim to be his/her unknown neighbor. He/she will certainly claim to be somebody who is great and respected. In the case of CSW and this group, they're somehow exposed to the idea of Bitcoin and they're completely fascinated. It's not a wonder, therefore, when of all people they chose to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

Third, it also helps, of course, that Satoshi Nakamoto is anonymous. The real identity/identities behind the name is still unknown until now. In other words, it's available. Hence, their claim. They can't claim to be Hal or Nick or Wei Dei.

This is also what I am thinking, everyone is becoming crazy about the true Satoshi Nakamoto, it's becoming like Jesus Christ where most are mysteries, some are still thinking it's still a matter of knowing who is real Satoshi Nakamoto while some don't care anymore.
I'm the latter, because for me right now, I'm already happy on what Satoshi Nakamoto left us.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

This is also what I am thinking, everyone is becoming crazy about the true Satoshi Nakamoto, it's becoming like Jesus Christ where most are mysteries, some are still thinking it's still a matter of knowing who is real Satoshi Nakamoto while some don't care anymore.

It is common interest and curiosity of everyone who join Bitcoin community recently. It's solid curiosity for all newbies and I used to be like this. It is a part of newbie due diligent research before spending money to buy bitcoin. If they don't do it, don't have that basic curiosity, they blindly spend money to invest in bitcoin that is not good at all.

I'm the latter, because for me right now, I'm already happy on what Satoshi Nakamoto left us.

I am with you too. I was curious who is/ are Satoshi Nakamoto but after many years here, certainly less than you, I no longer care who is/ are Satoshi Nakamoto.

Satoshi Nakamoto left the Bitcointalk, Bitcoin community as a donation for everyone like he said "Lost bitcoin is donation to everyone". Without Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin actually becomes a more decentralized project. No longer has a founder, the community including developers no longer have to look at, rely on Satoshi Nakamoto for future developments of Bitcoin protocol.

[bluebit25]

Because this is a story that has been established before when people always want to take advantage of fame to gain attraction, those who try to claim to be Satoshi I know are all just lies. And after coming into contact with this market, I realized that Satoshi wanted to send a message ''dont to care too much about who I am? ''And seeing what we bring to people, the demand and response makes this space bigger and more people want to get involved in it.

[Sarah Azhari]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin?

Maybe because the media are curious and want to know the amount of bitcoin Satoshi has, not because curious about his ideas and thoughts. The media always looking for bad news to get lots of clicks, therefore they write about fake satoshi to lure people to the article. I was not surprised to read this because the fact is not in accordance with the real even if it looks like the truth. Now, because the media is curious, many people want to be popular and claim to be satoshi. The people like this want to be famous for selling their products, not showing the advantages of Bitcoin. So, people like Craig are not good for the Bitcoin ecosystem, he even destroyed itself, and making things worse after claiming his coin (bsv) better than bitcoin.

[adaseb]

They do it most likely to be famous, not necessarily for Monitary gains. Since satoshi is anonymous you cannot prove you are not satoshi. Hence many people claim to be him.

Look how much fame CSW has gotten throughout the years, he was in so many magainzes and interviews because people believed he was satoshi. It’s this attention he was craving.

[peter0425]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

do we really need to  answer this? of course because now that bitcoin evolved from cocoon , pricing from almost nothing and now going to Hundred of thousands, how do they really deny the fact of claiming to be the creator/founder of this great technology?
and besides there are so many that is not listed in your OP that claims to be Satoshi that turns to be faketoshi.

[DapanasFruit]

Well, one thing for sure: nothing can attract attention more then success! And with the fact that the guy named Satoshi Nakamoto has hidden his presence and identity so well, this all have become a big invitation for some people to claim they are the real deal. Unfortunately, all of them could not prove their claims. Craig Wright continues to be on the news with his shenanigans but we know that the cryptocurrency industry don't have a love affair with him.

[Kakmakr]

"Money and Power ..... that is the two reasons why these people are doing this.

If you can prove that you are the real Satoshi Nakamoto, you can basically have the world media at your feet. You will be bombarded with requests to be interviewed and you will also receive large payments for that. (Not that you need money, because you have millions of coins to sell)

You will also step back into the Lead maintainer role for Bitcoin development, so that comes with power and money too... but it will all come at a cost. A lot of Bitcoin enemies will target the centralized figure head at the top of the Bitcoin ladder.... and that is why the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto are unknown. 

[0t3p0t]

Craig Wright is the only claimant I know to this day the rest on the list, I never heard of em. I don't think the real legend Satoshi Nakamoto was literally not on the list of people who claim themselves as the one. Satoshi even abandoned his Bitcointalk account and was inactive since then so why would he himself proclaim to be the founder of Bitcoin? Is it because he is tired of the fake ones? Satoshi himself is anonymous so why bother disclosing his real identity? Satoshi himself knew how risky it is to proclaim himself as the founder of Bitcoin. If only if Satoshi will make an activity on his wallet we will possibly believe he is alive and just hiding.

[Forever101]

As others have said that the self acclaimed Satoshi need attention, that's true , I will also say some may use that as means to exploit others, others may also have the agenda to gain public awareness in other to secure public office.

The true identity of Satoshi can not be known by anyone, since there are lots of useless claim even if the  real Satoshi comes out no one will believe him, we will all see him as another class of attention seeker.

As you have said @op if satoahi is actually known, there will be a lot of questions he will need to answer which will put his life at risk.

[retreat]

There are two ways for people to become famous, namely by their achievements or by their sensationalism. Maybe these faketoshi want to become famous in a sensational way which can increase the exposure of their name. Even though this method is not very good, there are still many people who want to become famous in a sensational way even if they become the laughing stock of people, and these Faketoshi are not ashamed of this.

[Blitzboy]

Putting on such mysterious shoes must be alluring to these "faketoshis," as they're called. They keep appearing, presenting no proof, but claiming Bitcoin's origin narrative.

You ask why. It may not be about controlling the Bitcoin network, but about gaining acknowledgment, approval, or even a strange type of respect in this tight-knit crypto community and beyond. Ironically, our ravenous want for recognition can often trump reason and logic.

Given Bitcoin's decentralised nature, can claiming to be Satoshi gain them influence or respect? As you noted, they'd face several risks?

[fuguebtc]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

The ultimate goal of people who always call themselves Satoshi is that they want to become famous, and when famous, there will be many ways to make money. I think money is still what those fakers are after. Although there are many opinions that if Satoshi appears, he will be investigated and imprisoned... but up to now it is all just speculation, there is no guarantee that will happen. So the fake Satoshis out there won't be afraid of that.

It's tiring just because a fake Satoshi twitter account has made the whole bitcoin community stir.

[Z-tight]

You ask why. It may not be about controlling the Bitcoin network

Yeah it definitely isn't about controlling the BTC network, Faketoshi's are all dumasses, but they know that nobody can control the BTC network, not even its real creator Satoshi, they only do this because they want to get fame for themselves and maybe money too.

Given Bitcoin's decentralised nature, can claiming to be Satoshi gain them influence or respect? As you noted, they'd face several risks?

It does not give them any respect because everyone who understands how BTC works know that they are lying, so instead of their claims giving them respect or influence, it makes people lose trust in their personality and they are called fraud and liars, they also don't face any risk because i don't think anyone would go after impostors like them.

[dothebeats]

Honestly, I have no idea what they were thinking when they claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto but I'm sure their goal was to either get famous/get popularity for something, and of course the most obvious answer: to scam. It's honestly not new for some individuals to claim they are someone they are obviously not, some even chooses to do that for their own sick entertainment.

[Silberman]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

It is very simple, they want the credit regardless of any consequences they may suffer from it, now I know this does not make sense for people that are rational, however that is just the way it is, when high profile crimes happen the police gets a bunch of people that claim they have the evidence to solve the crime and it is a lie, and what is even worse, they get a lot of people providing false confessions about crimes they did not commit, and once you understand such a thing people claiming to be Satoshi is not surprising anymore.

[Abiky]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

Why? Because these people are looking to gain all of the attention from the public. After all, Bitcoin is an extremely-popular cryptocurrency worldwide. Imagine all of the fame and fortune a guy (or gal) like Satoshi will have if he/she reveals him/herself to the public. It's this reason why we see so many "Satoshi wannabes" who want to get a "piece of the pie". Particularly, Craig Wright which is named by many as "Faketoshi". This guy even wenT as far as forging cryptographic keys to fool a BTC developer (Gavin Andressen). And let me tell you, this developer really fell for it.

The community, however, will not be fooled. Smart people will ask for proof to determine whenever a person is the real Satoshi or a conman. If he/she is able to sign the keys belonging to the real Satoshi, then the community will be "sold". Why would it matter, anyways? Bitcoin has been doing fine without Satoshi. As long as it works as intended, there should be nothing to worry about.

[DeathAngel]

Grifters, scammers, fantasists, narcissists & a mixture of all of that I suppose. Bitcoin is perhaps the greatest innovation of the last 100 years. To be able to say you are Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of such a phenomenon is kind of a big deal. All of these people who want what comes with that, want what it would bring to be the great Satoshi. Ignore all the noise though, I don’t believe Satoshi will ever come out of hiding, it goes against everything that he is/was. Certainly none of the scammers who have claimed to be Satoshi so far are the great man.

[icalical]

Claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto guarantees attention, even if debunked.

Yeah, I think that's the main purpose, they just seeking for attention. By doing that, people who doesn't even heard of their name now know them. Bad publicity is still publicity, and all publicity is good publicity. Tho, I believe that most people won't believe them, especially members of this forum, no one will believe them. But their follower who already 'pledge their loyalty' will still believe any lies they say.

[OgNasty]

To be fair we are all satoshi. More seriously, I’m sure everyone on that list probably had some financial reason to claim to be satoshi. I don’t think anyone would shame themselves with public lies otherwise. We’re seeing the final result of this claim now with the lawsuits surrounding Craig Wright and it isn’t pretty.

[ChiBitCTy]

There is a simple answer to this.  Take the extinguished "Dr" Craig Wright. The man is first of all a pathological liar.  He has his own shitcoin (BSV) and is going to continue to keep his lie up because this means more money for him.  He tricks people in to believing that he's Satoshi, then they are more willing to buy his products, donate money to his "foundation" etc. 

Simple as that for this fraudster.

[BITCOIN4X]

To be fair we are all satoshi. More seriously, I’m sure everyone on that list probably had some financial reason to claim to be satoshi. I don’t think anyone would shame themselves with public lies otherwise. We’re seeing the final result of this claim now with the lawsuits surrounding Craig Wright and it isn’t pretty.

I agree, it is clearly motivated by financial factors. I don't find a good reason why they dare to embarrass themselves in public without a clear motive, it doesn't make sense other than they need money. They may gain someone's traction and trust, but the bitcoin community can't seem to be fooled by such nonsense anymore. The main motive is money and making money, but of course there are other motives they have in mind.

[bocyaj]

If you get the chance of saying the US president in the social media,did you do or skip the opportunity.By saying you don’t get any financial benefit,you will become the public figure and more famous in the social media.If you try to scam the people using the famous and make money means,this will help you in very manner.The real Sathoshi never share his identity in the public,because the next hour he get kidnapped by the topper kidnapping team in this world.Because the real Satoshi will have real bitcoin in their wallet.

[The Cryptovator]

No, I haven't taken anyone seriously who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. The fact is, everyone who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto just wants to be popular. Because they know it very well, they can't provide valid evidence to prove themselves. Also, they are aware of the risk associated with being a real Satoshi Nakamoto. So they falsely claim to be the creators of Bitcoin and become public figures. Till now, whoever claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto went wrong. They failed to provide the necessary documentation. I will say just ignore any claim to be a Bitcoin cretaor. We really don't need to discover Satoshi Nakamoto. It would have a negative impact on the crypto industry, and most probably that's the reason why Satoshi Nakamoto hid himself forever.

[BitDane]

I believe it is more on popularity.  If they are verified to be Satoshi Nakamoto, their name will be embedded in the annals of history and may receive lots of recognition.  By getting the acknowledgement of people, their legacy will be imprinted in the history.

Which other faketoshis do you know?

The earlier replies already given their name.

And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

No, as long as they can't sign the known address of Satoshi, they should be ignored.

[Rruchi man]

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why?

For clout, for the attention and popularity that it can bring.

Many people are looking for ways to be popular and they know that since the identity of Satoshi is unknown, claiming to be him/her will attract a lot of interest from people who know the name Satoshi Nakamoto and are interested in knowing the face behind the identity.

We cannot take people who are claiming to be Satoshi serious because the real deal will know exactly how to make everybody believe, they will not need to make empty claims.

[Rengga Jati]

That is one of human nature, when something is extraordinary successful, then as much as possible he will be known as the one who made it/raised it, and is associated with it. Likewise with Bitcoin. We know very well that Bitcoin's journey is not easy, it even had to go through several painful years to be known by many people globally like it is today. However, when Bitcoin was still in its infancy and not as big as it is now, were there people who actually constantly claiming that he is Satoshi? No. Meanwhile, as time goes on, Bitcoin becomes more and more known throughout the world and has a fantastic price and is very hyped, several people who don't know themselves appear, claiming to be Satoshi, without any strong and acceptable evidence. And maybe this will happen again.

[Raflesia]

We as ordinary people will not know what benefits can be gained from such recognition but for those who are already seen and have authority then the addition of the nickname "Satoshi Nakamoto" to them clearly adds to their attractiveness and influence will be even more pronounced.
In the end, such personal benefits can be used because when someone is regarded as Satoshi Nakamoto then indirectly media traffic will go up for them and that is a good advantage for businessmen.
We know that people who claim to be Satoshi are mostly entrepreneurs so when there are people who believe and assume they are the real Satoshi then the income for them in terms of business will of course be greater.

[FinneysTrueVision]

I've only ever heard of Craig Wright and Paul Le Roux.

With Craig Wright it is obvious he is hoping to make some money. He has filed for dozens of patents with the US Patent and Trademark Office. If you look up the patents they are all pretty vague and based on other people's inventions. I don't know what his endgame is but perhaps by he hopes that by getting some patents approved he can later sue developers for stealing his ideas and gain control over Bitcoin.

I'm not sure Paul Le Roux ever openly claimed to be Satoshi. It just seems to be a wild conspiracy theory. A criminal mastermind being the creator of Bitcoin gets a lot of clicks. There's just enough circumstantial evidence to make it kind of believable. Some of the people that vouched for him being Satoshi, like Martin Shkreli, don't seem like the most reliable sources.

[Kavelj22]

I cannot understand why people cannot comprehend the idea that Satoshi Nakamoto does not exist and that the chances of him appearing are very slim, and this is for very logical reasons. If we assume that Satoshi did not hide his identity and died a month after announcing Bitcoin, what would be the difference? Can't the matter be dealt with as if its owner died and did not disappear? Then the most important reason is the difference between Bitcoin as we know it today in its absolute decentralized character and its creator being known to the public and having the ability to make decisions, even media statements capable of directing the market. Bitcoin will definitely not be what it is today. We have many examples, the most important of which is Ethereum, whose owner who created it sometimes receives more attention than Ethereum itself.

The mystery of Satoshi's identity is very important, at least at this stage, and that Satoshi, before his disappearance, did not leave chance for anyone to impersonate him, since he is the only one (supposedly) who can sign messages from those first addresses that he used or transfer funds from them. The increased interest in the mystery is what gives an opportunity for all these climbers to try to wear this character on the basis that its owner is absent without anyone knowing anything about him, and unfortunately it may succeed in carrying out a well organized scam.

[Ale88]

So basically, the people who claim to be Satoshi are nothing but narcissists? That is what I am getting whenever I see someone claiming to be such- I mean, who would want to have that kind of popularity?

The short answer is yes, they are narcissists. And they don't even care about "that" type of popularity, it's not important, they just want people to talk about them. And I think that they are not even that smart because if some criminal actually believes you are Satoshi that means that somewhere you and tens of billions of dollars, there are people who are willing to kill for $100, let alone what they could do if they think you have that kind of money. Good luck explaining it was all a joke...

[Abiky]

Grifters, scammers, fantasists, narcissists & a mixture of all of that I suppose. Bitcoin is perhaps the greatest innovation of the last 100 years. To be able to say you are Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of such a phenomenon is kind of a big deal. All of these people who want what comes with that, want what it would bring to be the great Satoshi. Ignore all the noise though, I don’t believe Satoshi will ever come out of hiding, it goes against everything that he is/was. Certainly none of the scammers who have claimed to be Satoshi so far are the great man.

For a cryptocurrency that went from being worth nothing to thousands of dollars after a few years, you can bet anyone would want "a piece of the pie" by claiming to be the real Satoshi. It's all drama because there's no way the original Bitcoin creator will show up in public. Especially now when most governments consider Bitcoin to be a threat to the very existence of Fiat currencies. You think Satoshi would want to reveal his identity when there's a huge risk of doing so? It's best for Satoshi to remain anonymous for the good of the Bitcoin project. Either he is dead or he is hiding somewhere quietly watching Bitcoin's developments.

I believe we should move on and focus on what matters most (which is bringing banking to the unbanked). The more people adopt Bitcoin as their currency, the more Fiat currencies will lose ground. A nation adopting BTC as legal tender (eg: El Salvador) is a first step towards "hyperbitcoinization". Maybe someday BTC will become the "one world currency" many were talking about?

[wiss19]

The reason is simple, they know how popular Bitcoin has become and how the whole world is adopting and admiring Bitcoin, and we know that when something becomes famous, people tend to become appreciative or praise the creator of that thing, and that is the exact reason why these people are trying their best to prove that they are Satoshi Nakamoto or at least claim to be. From the list you've provided, I've only known about Craig Wright.

I don't really understand what makes them think that the public will actually believe in them and accept that yes, one of them is actually Satoshi Nakamoto. Besides, how the hell do they know that Satoshi was actually an individual and it wasn't a group of people who created the technology?

[Peanutswar]

I guess one of the reason that became a trend is Satoshi Nakamoto because of is curious about the people and have a lot of secrets like his identity, the reason of the bitcoin, is he still holding a lot of bitcoin and etc. People now become more curious also now bitcoin has become a trend and many people would like to know more of this creator. Until now there's no jury who is the real Satoshi Nakamoto. Tons of speculations, and pretending that they are the Real Satoshi its easy to say but its hard to believe.

[Abiky]

I guess one of the reason that became a trend is Satoshi Nakamoto because of is curious about the people and have a lot of secrets like his identity, the reason of the bitcoin, is he still holding a lot of bitcoin and etc. People now become more curious also now bitcoin has become a trend and many people would like to know more of this creator. Until now there's no jury who is the real Satoshi Nakamoto. Tons of speculations, and pretending that they are the Real Satoshi its easy to say but its hard to believe.

No one likes secrets. You can see why many people are interested in knowing who Satoshi is. Bitcoin's quick rise to popularity led some individuals pose as the real Satoshi for fame and fortune. But their attempts to fool the public has failed, due being unable to provide proof of Satoshi's original keys. If no transactions are signed or moved from Satoshi's wallet, then all efforts will be in vain.

I don't think people will discover who the real Satoshi is, especially when there's a huge risk of revealing his identity. You can bet governments will hunt him down until he ends up in jail, or even kill him in the process. For the sake of Bitcoin, it's best to leave things as is. Eventually the world will give up as it finds other important things to focus us. Remember, we're all Satoshi. As long as BTC stays decentralized, there should be nothing to worry about. Just my opinion

[Blitzboy]

I guess one of the reason that became a trend is Satoshi Nakamoto because of is curious about the people and have a lot of secrets like his identity, the reason of the bitcoin, is he still holding a lot of bitcoin and etc. People now become more curious also now bitcoin has become a trend and many people would like to know more of this creator. Until now there's no jury who is the real Satoshi Nakamoto. Tons of speculations, and pretending that they are the Real Satoshi its easy to say but its hard to believe.

No one likes secrets. You can see why many people are interested in knowing who Satoshi is. Bitcoin's quick rise to popularity led some individuals pose as the real Satoshi for fame and fortune. But their attempts to fool the public has failed, due being unable to provide proof of Satoshi's original keys. If no transactions are signed or moved from Satoshi's wallet, then all efforts will be in vain.

I don't think people will discover who the real Satoshi is, especially when there's a huge risk of revealing his identity. You can bet governments will hunt him down until he ends up in jail, or even kill him in the process. For the sake of Bitcoin, it's best to leave things as is. Eventually the world will give up as it finds other important things to focus us. Remember, we're all Satoshi. As long as BTC stays decentralized, there should be nothing to worry about. Just my opinion

I see your point regarding Satoshi, the secret-keeper. All these attempts to find Bitcoin's creator or creators; isnt it fascinating? Yes, many people have impersonated Satoshi to get fame and money. Their stories dont stick without those keys and proof.

However, if Satoshi's identity were discovered, how would Bitcoin change? Your notion about decentralization being vital resonates, no? Everyone contributes to its progress and adoption. With or without Satoshi's identity, Bitcoin's direction, destiny, is shaped by the community, not just one person.

[Abiky]

I see your point regarding Satoshi, the secret-keeper. All these attempts to find Bitcoin's creator or creators; isnt it fascinating? Yes, many people have impersonated Satoshi to get fame and money. Their stories dont stick without those keys and proof.

However, if Satoshi's identity were discovered, how would Bitcoin change? Your notion about decentralization being vital resonates, no? Everyone contributes to its progress and adoption. With or without Satoshi's identity, Bitcoin's direction, destiny, is shaped by the community, not just one person.

If Satoshi's identity is discovered, it's likely the community will "fork away". The new chain won't have Satoshi's original Bitcoin holdings to protect the Blockchain. In the aftermath, governments would most likely prosecute Satoshi to either put him in jail or execute him (death penalty). It would be a complete disaster.

Many things can happen in the future, so we should expect the unexpected. As long as Bitcoin stays decentralized and censorship-resistant, nothing should be able to stand on its way. Let's hope we'll never find Satoshi for the good of the crypto/Blockchain industry.

[danadc]

Those who claim to be Satoshi and because they want to be famous and want to have a lot of Recognition , that is something that can be understood, perhaps a person with low self-esteem? The most common is Craig, but at the end of the day it makes me laugh, because he is someone who wants to look like he is the smartest of all, per sui Satooshi has already moved all the BTC that he has, so I think that These things are not what they Should be, the real Satoshi is not Known if it is one person or many people, but those who claim to be Satoshi for me are looking for that , something that seems unpleasant to me, taking the triumph of others as if it were from the same person , it's sad.

[jeha2015]

Of course, those who claim to be Satoshi only seek popularity with the big name Satoshi, nothing more. Ultimately the goal is fraud. What is certain is that we as a bitcoin community are not easily fooled by news that claims to be Satoshi because we believe Satoshi will never appear at any time, because Bitcoin is anonymous so it is impossible if he is Satoshi he will surface. This would go against the basic principle of bitcoin, namely privacy.

I also read the news that Elon Musk is Satoshi. We just need to keep quiet, because it is clear that this is not possible. It's true that Elon Musk never said it himself, but his fans say that Elon Musk is Satoshi. Lol

[albon]

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

I really felt mockery when I saw some of these people who claimed to be the real Satoshi Nakamoto. What's amusing is that they declared this not too long ago, just a few years back. Anyone can now claim to be the real Satoshi, to seek fame and be in the front headlines, and can also impersonate Satoshi's identity in order to deceive the cryptocurrency community of investors and traders and obtain hundreds and thousands of followers and crypto fans in a short period. But the most critical question is, what proof did they present to prove that they are the real Satoshi? The answer is nothing. By signing a message using Satoshi's official wallet address, this matter can be resolved.

Honestly, whoever takes these impersonators of Satoshi seriously is mainly a beginner who is not familiar with all the sufficient information about this matter, and it is easy for him to believe anyone who sees him.

[tjtonmoy]

Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

People are obsessed for getting recognized. And when there's a hot topic, people will most likely take that as an opportunity and use that to their advantage. But people are not that stupid. You need solid evidence in order to prove that you are Satoshi Nakamoto. They will face the consequences if proven to be the real Satoshi but don't know why they still do it. Is it for popularity or recognition? But I have never taken anyone seriously.

Few days ago, there was a Twitter account that has recently come to life. Many believes that it was the real Satoshi. But there are people who were saying that it wasn't the real one. I'm not interested in finding out who Satoshi really is. Not knowing his identity is the key reason why Bitcoin is here. Bitcoin could never reach this height if the creator of Bitcoin is known. Staying anonymous has paved the path for Bitcoin to reach where it is now. So I don't think it is important whoever claims to be Satoshi. Let them do whatever they want. And I don't know about any other faketoshi. I only knew about three of them but thanks to your post I have learned it now.

[Japinat]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

Well, it could be for popularity and own the spotlight that only the real Satoshi deserves. But more than that, I believe its all about money matters and making more money from those people who easily believe on them. In short, they want to use this opportunity to scam people most especially that bitcoin is in the verge of popularity when it comes to profitability and security in an crypto investment. If they can do that, they will become instant billionaires in an instant without proving their real identity to the whole world.

However, we're also aware that the real Satoshi is not active anymore in any form of social media platform. He could be dead, or he is just living away from the spotlight for personal reasons. This makes the scammers hard to deceive people and pretend to be Satoshi. A lot really tried to claim the name of Satoshi but all of them failed in the process.

[BitDane]

I've only ever heard of Craig Wright and Paul Le Roux.

With Craig Wright it is obvious he is hoping to make some money. He has filed for dozens of patents with the US Patent and Trademark Office. If you look up the patents they are all pretty vague and based on other people's inventions. I don't know what his endgame is but perhaps by he hopes that by getting some patents approved he can later sue developers for stealing his ideas and gain control over Bitcoin.

It is possibly the case but I am more on CSW and other "Bitcoin Creator" claimant is after the legacy of being the creator of Bitcoin. Once acknowledge his name will be known forever as the creator of the revolutionary financial program that change the course of financial system.  Of course that also includes the possibility to gain more money, but I do not think he can sue any developer who participated in Bitcoin development since Bitcoin github is open-source and is publicly displayed and is licensed under MIT. 

This link explains how MIT license works: Open Source Software Licenses 101: The MIT License

[mirakal]

There are two ways for people to become famous, namely by their achievements or by their sensationalism. Maybe these faketoshi want to become famous in a sensational way which can increase the exposure of their name. Even though this method is not very good, there are still many people who want to become famous in a sensational way even if they become the laughing stock of people, and these Faketoshi are not ashamed of this.

In short, they want to feel that they are important and being valued by many. Through the achievements of Satoshi, they will be highly respected and will be given power and achieve wealth in the process.  It's not that they will become instantly rich if they claim Satoshi's name, but it will offer them big opportunities so they can deceive the people and patronize whatever their offers and make them wealthy in the process. But of course, even if they want to outsmart the people, the people themselves are even smarter by them. With the help of internet and legit sources of information spreading online, people can research everything about these people and find red flags that will prove that they are definitely not the real Satoshi Nakamoto.

[Ndabagi01]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

Nothing but the desire to be the centre of attention. If you dig far into the internet to find out who Satoshi is, you'll find a website that mentions one of these identities as Satoshi Nakamoto. What else do they require if not attention of publicity? People impersonate not just anyone, but the resourceful individual who has created something valuable that many people are drawn to. There are two motives for this: either to gain popularity or to scam people into believing they are one and thus believing in what they urge them to do.

[taufik123]

-snip-
Few days ago, there was a Twitter account that has recently come to life. Many believes that it was the real Satoshi. But there are people who were saying that it wasn't the real one. I'm not interested in finding out who Satoshi really is. Not knowing his identity is the key reason why Bitcoin is here. Bitcoin could never reach this height if the creator of Bitcoin is known. Staying anonymous has paved the path for Bitcoin to reach where it is now. So I don't think it is important whoever claims to be Satoshi. Let them do whatever they want. And I don't know about any other faketoshi. I only knew about three of them but thanks to your post I have learned it now.

This also proves that Bitcoin can become bigger and develop without the founder, without the intervention of others and this is purely from the community.
Decentralized and cannot be regulated by anyone including the government.

If Satoshi is known then Bitcoin can no longer be decentralized because the government will continue to pressure Satoshi to open all the source code.

Those who claim to be Satoshi only want popularity so that the projects they work on will get attention.
See how CSW does it by promoting BCH which is claimed to be the real Bitcoin.

It's quite ridiculous when anyone who claims to be Satoshi can't prove that they're really Satoshi,
instead of leading opinions with some active satoshi accounts and such.

[Arenga pinnata]

I also don't understand why they dare to make statements and claim to be Satoshi. But one thing that is certain is that they are probably just looking for popularity and trying to profit from that popularity. They are not afraid of all the dangers that could threaten them because they know that they are not Satoshi. So they will stay safe. Because people won't believe them either. but one thing they managed to get was that they managed to attract everyone's attention. And yes, in the end they can become popular people. But still I don't understand the real motive for it all. Maybe this is part of the media business to promote news or something like that. But maybe it's also because they obsess themselves too much about this. There are many possibilities. but no one will know except themselves or the parties behind it all.

[famososMuertos]

Obviously it has happened in history in the craziest situations possible, mainly for scams, but there are people who said they were in the Holocaust or those who said they survived 9/11( WTC), it is not that rare.

So, you have one of the most controversial and interesting characters of the 21st century, that can be exciting for some people.  And the reasons for doing so in this case, its genius that is reflected in Bitcoin, that creates interest and morbidity.

[tjtonmoy]

Those who claim to be Satoshi only want popularity so that the projects they work on will get attention.
See how CSW does it by promoting BCH which is claimed to be the real Bitcoin.

It's quite ridiculous when anyone who claims to be Satoshi can't prove that they're really Satoshi,
instead of leading opinions with some active satoshi accounts and such.

Seems like a fair reason for anyone to claim to be Satoshi. All they want is to make money. And I have no idea how low they can get in order to achieve that. We don't believe in Satoshi. Because we still have no idea if he is only one person or a group of people. So it is better to not think about it too much. We believe in Bitcoin and that's all that matters.

If they can't prove their identity, then they are not Satoshi. It's that simple. Whoever have claimed to be Satoshi in the past was never able to provide any solid proof. I don't care about CSW or BCH. The Bitcoin has climbed up the stairs to reach this height so it is the real Bitcoin to us.

[Woodie]

Can't remember any of those names as time has passed but one name that stands out because of the extra length his gone trying to take that name/title is Craig Wright.

But why are they obsessed with claiming the name:

• There is money to be made out there, interview sitdowns will pay for exclusives
• Biography sales
• Projects could get him as an advisor, list is endless

But of course it's all for selfish reasons of which the real Satoshi disappeared for the very same reasons.

[carlfebz2]

Why are these people obsessed with being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? In 2019 this website reported a list of self-proclaimed bitcoin founder;

• Ronald Keala Kua Maria
• Pakastani Bilal Khalid and his PR firm Ivy McLemore  
• Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
• Jörg Molt
• Craig Wright
• Paul Calder Le Roux

There are more who have claimed to be Satoshi but why? Why do they want to be Satoshi so bad they look stupid to the public with all their self proclamation. In fact there are so many dangers in being Satoshi because he would be the center of every backlash, investigations, arrest warrants, and what have you. And besides, it would make no difference because he, Satoshi technically would have no say on how the bitcoin network should or should not run based on the consensus. Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

We dont know on whats up to their minds or on how they do really that look stupid on the things that they've been trying out to do on which trying out to claim to be Satoshi? There's no way that it could be proven out not unless if they could be able to move those those wallets which we've been known that it do belongs to Satoshi.I would say that this would really be only the proof on which we could really be able to accept that they are really Satoshi or else then they would really be just simply making themselves look like fraud.There's no way that they could be Satoshi.Hence, speaking about on anonymity then he wont really be just that simply making himself that would really be that known by the government on which it would really be a huge danger for it into his life basing up on the things that he had created which is Bitcoin which it did
really stir up that centralization on what fiat could offer or simply with that traditional monetary system.

You would really be needing to face up on whatever questions or whatever issues that would be thrown at you. This is why being known does have no point if i were Satoshi.
This is why its really that laughable if there's someone who do really make out such claims without even showing some solid proofs and come to think
that satoshi wont really be exposing himself so easily specially considering about those usual factors.

[Vaculin]

So basically, the people who claim to be Satoshi are nothing but narcissists? That is what I am getting whenever I see someone claiming to be such- I mean, who would want to have that kind of popularity?

The short answer is yes, they are narcissists. And they don't even care about "that" type of popularity, it's not important, they just want people to talk about them. And I think that they are not even that smart because if some criminal actually believes you are Satoshi that means that somewhere you and tens of billions of dollars, there are people who are willing to kill for $100, let alone what they could do if they think you have that kind of money. Good luck explaining it was all a joke...

Since they want to take the spotlight that is not intended for them, then obviously they are nothing but narcissists. All they want is that the world will recognize them, like the world is revolving in them. And no one wants to be in this situation not unless you want to be famous in exchange of your own dignity. And all of these people who claim that they are Satoshi Nakamoto are sharing the same goal, to be famous and establish their name in the world, and next to it is to attract wealth with their names.

Although I have no hate against these people, but if they continue to pretend and fool the world that they are the real Satoshi, then clearly they're not actually in their right thinking. The more that we should not trust their names.

[abel1337]

So basically, the people who claim to be Satoshi are nothing but narcissists? That is what I am getting whenever I see someone claiming to be such- I mean, who would want to have that kind of popularity?

The short answer is yes, they are narcissists. And they don't even care about "that" type of popularity, it's not important, they just want people to talk about them. And I think that they are not even that smart because if some criminal actually believes you are Satoshi that means that somewhere you and tens of billions of dollars, there are people who are willing to kill for $100, let alone what they could do if they think you have that kind of money. Good luck explaining it was all a joke...

Since they want to take the spotlight that is not intended for them, then obviously they are nothing but narcissists. All they want is that the world will recognize them, like the world is revolving in them. And no one wants to be in this situation not unless you want to be famous in exchange of your own dignity. And all of these people who claim that they are Satoshi Nakamoto are sharing the same goal, to be famous and establish their name in the world, and next to it is to attract wealth with their names.

Although I have no hate against these people, but if they continue to pretend and fool the world that they are the real Satoshi, then clearly they're not actually in their right thinking. The more that we should not trust their names.

I agree with you. The more they say that they are satoshi nakamoto, the more they are making themselves looks like a fool. There are people who claimed to be satoshi nakamoto but no one up to now had accessed the account of the real satoshi nakamoto in this forum. I will personally believe anyone who claimed that he/she/they are satoshi nakamoto if our founder (satoshi account) posted it here in this forum. That is the only way that majority of us will be convince for sure, not just any court hearings or what so ever. People will just try to fake it till they make it but trying to prove that they are satoshi nakamoto won't make it to the cut.

[taufik123]

-snip-
We don't believe in Satoshi. Because we still have no idea if he is only one person or a group of people. So it is better to not think about it too much. We believe in Bitcoin and that's all that matters.

Yes, don't trust anyone, it will only lead you astray.
When you said about satoshi being a group or a person, I was reminded of the movie BIG MOUTH which is a crime fiction drama movie that tells the story of Bigh Mouth as a ruler who can do anything, and it is not known whether he is a group or a person.
But at the end of the story Big Mouth is an anti-government group and has many members.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21195490/

I don't care about CSW or BCH. The Bitcoin has climbed up the stairs to reach this height so it is the real Bitcoin to us.

Bitcoin is Bitcoin and it will never change or be replaced,
BCH or any other forked coin is just a parasite that will not grow and will even only be below Bitcoin.

[Strongkored]

Which other faketoshis do you know? And have you ever taken any of them seriously?

I don't know and in almost every news when someone claims he is Satoshi Nakamoto I am never interested in reading or finding out the truth, because I think it is not important to know whether the claim is true or not.
People who appear and claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto certainly want to gain popularity and it could be that he has his own agenda because he knows how popular this coin is and how many people are quite curious about its creator so that when he claims he will probably provide more profits when he does another thing in the crypto world, because we know the crypto world is filled with many fraudsters and the way he cheats is by starting to build trust from this large community.

[NotATether]

I don't understand why anybody would want to be Satoshi.

He is sitting on a huge stash of Bitcoins, worth (at the time of writing this) billions of dollars, so any casual crack-head who announces to the world to be Satoshi will inevitably be targeted by scammers and extortionists who would try to rob them of pretty much everything they've got. Since most of them certainly don't have millions to sit on themselves.

[Abiky]

Seems like a fair reason for anyone to claim to be Satoshi. All they want is to make money. And I have no idea how low they can get in order to achieve that. We don't believe in Satoshi. Because we still have no idea if he is only one person or a group of people. So it is better to not think about it too much. We believe in Bitcoin and that's all that matters.

If they can't prove their identity, then they are not Satoshi. It's that simple. Whoever have claimed to be Satoshi in the past was never able to provide any solid proof. I don't care about CSW or BCH. The Bitcoin has climbed up the stairs to reach this height so it is the real Bitcoin to us.

You've got it all wrong. It's not BCH that CSW is supporting, but rather BSV (Bitcoin SV). This little blockchain of his has proven to be a failed experiment. Especially when he proposed the "recovery" of dormant Bitcoins. Only his followers are using this useless "shitcoin". The rest of the people are carrying along as usual with the real Bitcoin (BTC).

I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the future we see another person claiming to be the real Satoshi Nakamoto. People and the media will eventually get tired of all this nonsense as they focus on what matters most. It's not about Satoshi, but rather the community as a whole. Unless Satoshi's BTC holdings start moving on the Blockchain, we should have nothing to worry about.

[taufik123]

I don't understand why anybody would want to be Satoshi.

He is sitting on a huge stash of Bitcoins, worth (at the time of writing this) billions of dollars, so any casual crack-head who announces to the world to be Satoshi will inevitably be targeted by scammers and extortionists who would try to rob them of pretty much everything they've got. Since most of them certainly don't have millions to sit on themselves.

As I said earlier, they are looking for popularity in the crypto ecosystem and they are utilizing Satoshi's name as the driving force.
But somehow they didn't see how risky it would be if they claimed to be Satoshi and there were people who really believed it so that it became a criminal target to be able to take a lot of bitcoin from him.

Even owners of crypto assets with hundreds to millions of dollars are subjected to many scams and robbery attempts.
Publicizing the identity of crypto asset owners is dangerous and no one would want to do that when they know the risks involved.

-snip-
I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the future we see another person claiming to be the real Satoshi Nakamoto. People and the media will eventually get tired of all this nonsense as they focus on what matters most. It's not about Satoshi, but rather the community as a whole. Unless Satoshi's BTC holdings start moving on the Blockchain, we should have nothing to worry about.

People will get tired of it, we can see how everyone is fed up with CSW and he is not even a trending topic anymore.
Always when bullish comes the figure of satoshi is always associated with appearing and so on. 

[tjtonmoy]

Yes, don't trust anyone, it will only lead you astray.
When you said about satoshi being a group or a person, I was reminded of the movie BIG MOUTH which is a crime fiction drama movie that tells the story of Bigh Mouth as a ruler who can do anything, and it is not known whether he is a group or a person.
But at the end of the story Big Mouth is an anti-government group and has many members.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21195490/

I have actually watched that drama. It has a lot of suspense and a great storytelling. That also reminds me, The person that we are all looking for could be right beside us and we won't even know. I have speculated many times that the original boss of the big mouth group was someone else. Turns out, it's someone that you will never expect to be. I really enjoyed that drama to be honest.

Drama and entertainment aside, even if they are lurking around us that doesn't mean we need to dig out the truth. Bitcoin is better off without the truth and it is doing a great job being what it is meant to be. So let's just forget all that and focus on Bitcoin. when you are thirsty, you drink water. But you never think of who created it. And that's how Bitcoin is. Take the advantage as long as you can and don't think about who created it.

[Sanitough]

The reason is simple, they know how popular Bitcoin has become and how the whole world is adopting and admiring Bitcoin, and we know that when something becomes famous, people tend to become appreciative or praise the creator of that thing, and that is the exact reason why these people are trying their best to prove that they are Satoshi Nakamoto or at least claim to be. From the list you've provided, I've only known about Craig Wright.

I don't really understand what makes them think that the public will actually believe in them and accept that yes, one of them is actually Satoshi Nakamoto. Besides, how the hell do they know that Satoshi was actually an individual and it wasn't a group of people who created the technology?

That is still unknown until today since the name Satoshi has been active only until 2010 and after that we have not heard from him/them ever since. But the only reason I know why a lot of people are claiming the name of Satoshi because they just want to take advantage of bitcoin while its hot and  is very in demand. That means when it comes to scamming, they will have the opportunity to scam a lot of people if they will be convinced to believe on them.

I have no other possible reason that I can think when it comes to this kind of situation. If its not about money, then these people would not be so trying hard to convince and deceive other people even if the chance to be successful is very slim.

[Odusko]

Fake people always try to copy others, and since Satoshi Nakamoto has been out of Bitcoin science for such a long time and that has given room to some of those people to try to steal his identity if you ask me what their reasons are I will say they are out for the fame and nothing else, most of them want to take glory for what satoshi have done in developing a strong financial tool like Bitcoin that the whole has come to recognize it as the Internet money and this is enough for it creator to be a global celebrity which is what those identity thieves are after.
If anyone wants to prove to be Satoshi, it is easy, let they sign a message from one of Satoshi's old wallets

[taufik123]

-snip-
Drama and entertainment aside, even if they are lurking around us that doesn't mean we need to dig out the truth. Bitcoin is better off without the truth and it is doing a great job being what it is meant to be. So let's just forget all that and focus on Bitcoin. when you are thirsty, you drink water. But you never think of who created it. And that's how Bitcoin is. Take the advantage as long as you can and don't think about who created it.

Bitcoin with all its mysteries will be the story that makes Bitcoin even greater, we just have to let all this go without the truth being revealed.
Bitcoin continues to grow bigger because of the community support and technology that is needed today.
No matter who created it, the person or group behind the name Satoshi is just a great secret that does not have to be revealed.

-snip-
I have no other possible reason that I can think when it comes to this kind of situation. If its not about money, then these people would not be so trying hard to convince and deceive other people even if the chance to be successful is very slim.

Again, it's about money and popularity.
Whoever claims it early gets a lot of attention and they can build projects with the attention of many people.
The chances of success are slim and the risk of being hated is certainly something they have thought about.
But the more they are hated they will continue to get attention which makes them richer.

[btc78]

You might not remember how years ago everybody googled Dorian Nakamoto, but one of the reasons for every scammer claiming to be Satoshi is exactly that - popularity.
Dorian wasn't a scammer, but his case showed these people how you can use people's curiosity. After all, we'd all want to know who Satoshi was.

Have you noticed that whenever someone claims to be Satoshi, the press writes about it? You can be John Doe from Farmerville claiming to be the founder of Bitcoin and suddenly you're on Coindesk, CNBC, and so on... If you're notorious like Craig, you're going to be on Forbes, Wall Street Journal and invited to TV interviews.
It allows these people to make money because their social media get hits, projects that list them as founders or advisors amass more followers, they can promote all the scams they want because they have a popular name that comes up when you perform google searches.

So basically, the people who claim to be Satoshi are nothing but narcissists? That is what I am getting whenever I see someone claiming to be such- I mean, who would want to have that kind of popularity?

In all honesty, claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto is just nothing but dangerous. The guy has thousands of BTC which are not yet transferred from his wallet. Such person would just compromise their own safety and security for a short-timed fame which basically does nothing if they cannot prove their identity and association.

like you said these people are narcissists

narcissistic people often think that they’re invincible or can get away with anything most of the time people who claim different identities don’t really think of the consequences that they will face but rather what good it will bring them pretending to be satoshi is probably the most inviting thing ever i’ve seen people claim identities of people who have great evidences that they exist in real life and in the digital world imagine how “easy” it would be to pretend to be someone no one really knows? i’m guessing that’s their train of thought

[pinggoki]

That's easy, they just want to the fame around it and the temporary clout is a helpful way to gain some recognition in their name. I don't know the names of this people but I imagine that they're all businessmen that's trying to sell something and what better way to advertise your product and gain a small prominence than claiming that you're the legendary founder of bitcoin, and we know better that no one's going to believe these claims unless a substantial claim has been given then for now anyone will be a fake but not everyone is like the "esteemed" BTT forum members that knows how to think, there's bound to be some gullible schmuck that's going to believe those fakes and then these fakes will get a sale of what they're selling.

[OgNasty]

Someone claiming to be satoshi is a sure sign of a scammer. The real satoshi, if he was still alive, would never want anyone to know who he is. It would bring nothing but negative attention to himself and Bitcoin. People would use that information to undermine BTC and I’m sure there would be people trying to kidnap him. It’s just dumb to think anyone would want to be satoshi.

[Blitzboy]

That's easy, they just want to the fame around it and the temporary clout is a helpful way to gain some recognition in their name. I don't know the names of this people but I imagine that they're all businessmen that's trying to sell something and what better way to advertise your product and gain a small prominence than claiming that you're the legendary founder of bitcoin, and we know better that no one's going to believe these claims unless a substantial claim has been given then for now anyone will be a fake but not everyone is like the "esteemed" BTT forum members that knows how to think, there's bound to be some gullible schmuck that's going to believe those fakes and then these fakes will get a sale of what they're selling.

People who don't fully understand Bitcoin often say that it's a dangerous investment. For Bitcoin to work, as you said, you need to invest carefully and strategically. Risk, or the idea of it, is often just an illusion caused by not having enough information. Without knowing how the bear and bull markets work, how can someone think it's risky?

There is a point of view that should be taken into account when saying that investing in Bitcoin is just a measured risk and that losses are almost impossible to predict if you know how the market works. According to what you said, big men and women may keep talking about risk, but this could just be a sign of their own doubts and not a reflection of the asset itself. Buying during the bull market, holding on during the bear market, and planning for gains is the clear approach.

[dezoel]

Fake people always try to copy others, and since Satoshi Nakamoto has been out of Bitcoin science for such a long time and that has given room to some of those people to try to steal his identity if you ask me what their reasons are I will say they are out for the fame and nothing else, most of them want to take glory for what satoshi have done in developing a strong financial tool like Bitcoin that the whole has come to recognize it as the Internet money and this is enough for it creator to be a global celebrity which is what those identity thieves are after.
If anyone wants to prove to be Satoshi, it is easy, let they sign a message from one of Satoshi's old wallets

They know they can't prove anything, they are just looking for attention since the whole world knows Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have been the biggest and the most long-lasting hype one could ever witness and these few people want to make use of that and gain some popularity and attention around the globe for claiming to be Satoshi, the creator of the best cryptocurrency which is considered to be one of the revolutionary inventions to the humankind so far.

So, even though whatever they say or do wouldn't prove anything and those who know about bitcoin and its history will know that they are lying, they are still achieving their target which is to get attention and here we are, discussing them and spreading their names around which means they are getting recognition, even if it's negative.