How has Satoshi's identity never been revealed ?

[BlackHatCoiner]

However, Satoshi did use an account on this forum, along with an email address. All connections to this forum logged his IP address/user-agent and other digital traces.

You can't do much with an IP address. It could be the IP address of a Tor exit node. Or perhaps another pro-anonymity protocol. Or VPN. Or maybe Satoshi just used to go on coffee-shops with free Wi-Fi to code or/and write forum posts. Or a combination of everything mentioned.

He probably just used Tor though. That's the safest approach.


By the way, Satoshi is not the only person in the cryptographic community who's remained anonymous. Monero's core development team is mostly consisted of anonymous people, like van Saberhagen and thankful_for_today. Today's anonymity protocols probably provide sufficient anonymity.

[The Cryptovator]

How do you believe Bitcoin creators don't know how to prevent themselves from being traced by the government or any other agencies? He created Bitcoin, which is truly decentralised; if he can't hide himself from tracing, then the idea of true decentralisation won't be true. Even nowadays, it's hard to identify a person by their IP address when using the public Internet and Tor. Then Satoshi was more intelligent than us. He cares much more about his privacy. I think anyone can't reveal him unless they want to reveal themselves. 

[aoluain]

Re: How has Satoshi's identity never been revealed ?

I believe its because he/she/they practiced forward planning right from the first
piece of code! They knew exactly what had to be done.

For someone who could create the entity that is Bitcoin there were added considerations
namely to remain anonymous. Because Bitcoin was going to be disruptive and revolutionary
it was prudent to remain anonymous and to walk away from the project at a certain time.

Everything to date has remained successful for Satoshi.

[boldfi]

Wow lot of opinions. I personally believe Satoshi's identity has been carefully planned to remain unknown when he thougth his plans. But we gotta be real and say no one is anonymous online nowadays.
Using 20 VPNs in sequence along with Tor from a cybercafe won't change nothing. If someone really wants to find you and has enough ressources, he will.

So i guess Satoshi's anonymity is partly due to the fact that he was active way before he became known -- and potentially searched --
Also no one wants to engage so much ressources and money just to find him, but with an unlimited amount of money he could probably be found.

[Btcdeybodi]

So i guess Satoshi's anonymity is partly due to the fact that he was active way before he became known -- and potentially searched --

I also have same assumptions because immediately he saw that he was becoming a center of attraction he just stopped being active and said he is moving on to other things because if he had continued there is no way he would have stayed till now without his identity being revealed.

Also no one wants to engage so much ressources and money just to find him, but with an unlimited amount of money he could probably be found.

Do you really thinks no one is interested to find out who Satoshi Nakamoto was? And you think probably because they don't have enough resources? I don't think so because it could be that the data they would have used in tracing his identity is no longer available.

[boldfi]

Do you really thinks no one is interested to find out who Satoshi Nakamoto was? And you think probably because they don't have enough resources? I don't think so because it could be that the data they would have used in tracing his identity is no longer available.

Maybe the data is no longer available. But it not easy to completely erase data. Formatting an HDD doesn't make data unavailable. Experts can retrieve the data. Satoshi probably knew how to totally destroy data, but it seems strange to me that all the services he relied on, such as the mail provider, or the domain name registrar, have had their data erased in a proper manner.
I remember a documentary showing how specialized unit could retrieve some sensible data from a HDD that had been 0-filled and physically damaged, by rebuilding pieces of pieces of data from magnetic residues, along with forensics investigations. Crazy thing.

Mail provider, domain registrar, web hoster. They probably could retrieve the IP that registered the domain / created the email ... by employing experts into data retrieving and search for days into old HDD.

So i guess with enough ressources it would be possible.

[dzungmobile]

You can't do much with an IP address. It could be the IP address of a Tor exit node.

No else because theymos confirmed that Satoshi Nakamoto always used Tor during his active time in the forum and Bitcoin community.

I'll probably release Satoshi's PMs and logged IPs addresses in ~8 years. This'd probably be of great historical interest. (Though he always used Tor, as far as I can tell.)


2021 edit: I changed my mind: I am not going to release Satoshi's PMs in 2021. See my post here.

[boule69]

It's indeed a fascinating topic! Satoshi Nakamoto's ability to maintain anonymity despite the immense interest and resources dedicated to uncovering their identity is quite remarkable. There are several factors that may have contributed to this:

1. Technical Savvy: Satoshi was evidently highly skilled in cryptography, computer science, and networking. They were able to develop Bitcoin, a groundbreaking technology, which suggests a deep understanding of anonymity and privacy-enhancing techniques.

2. Operational Security (OpSec): Satoshi took precautions to conceal their identity from the outset. This likely involved using pseudonyms, such as "Satoshi Nakamoto," and employing methods to obfuscate their digital footprint.

3. Decentralized Nature of Bitcoin: Bitcoin operates on a decentralized network, which means there is no central authority controlling it. This decentralization makes it difficult for any single entity to uncover Satoshi's identity by tracing transactions or network activity.

4. Use of Common Tools: While Satoshi did use forums and email to communicate, they may have taken steps to mitigate the risk of identification, such as using generic email providers and possibly masking their IP address through tools like VPNs or Tor.

5. Community Respect for Anonymity: The Bitcoin community has generally respected Satoshi's wish for anonymity. Despite curiosity about their identity, there has been little concerted effort within the community to unveil it.

6. Legal and Jurisdictional Challenges: Even if governments or institutions were interested in unmasking Satoshi, legal and jurisdictional challenges would complicate any investigation. Without clear evidence of wrongdoing, the legal basis for such an investigation may be weak.

It's important to note that while Satoshi's identity remains unknown, their creation, Bitcoin, has become a transformative technology with a vast ecosystem and community built around it. The mystery surrounding Satoshi adds to the allure of Bitcoin and underscores the idea that it truly is a decentralized and global phenomenon.

[nutildah]

This is exactly why ChatGPT copy/pasters should be banned from the forum:

They were able to develop Bitcoin, a groundbreaking technology, which suggests a deep understanding of anonymity and privacy-enhancing techniques.

Uh, no it does not. The blockchain is a public ledger and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with anonymity.

5. Community Respect for Anonymity: The Bitcoin community has generally respected Satoshi's wish for anonymity. Despite curiosity about their identity, there has been little concerted effort within the community to unveil it.

Hah. Members of this forum have spent a combined hundreds or even thousands of hours investigating who Satoshi is or might be.

It's important to note that while Satoshi's identity remains unknown,

It's also important to note that any post that ends with the phrase "It's important to note" in the last paragraph means that the post was written by ChatGPT.

[amihada]

Satoshi's identity has not been revealed until now. You can imagine that Satoshi is someone who is such a genius. How could it not be that when Satoshi created Bitcoin, Satoshi was already thinking about hiding his identity and what is very important is the content of Satoshi's thoughts, how will the next generation develop and be able to protect his wallet? Until now, no one has can hack it

[0t3p0t]

We know that he/they was/were using Tor, shy, cautious, and had enough experience to hide his identity, and what helped Satoshi is that talking about Bitcoin and interest in it began in 2013, 3 years after his disappearance, and it is difficult to find a service that records junk data for 3 years.

It was 2009-2010, not 2024. If Satoshi started Bitcoin today, it would be difficult for him to hide his identity.

Yeah and Satoshi won't be called as the legendary founder if he/she/they just feed us all with his/her/their credentials and identity. He has been active here on this forum then hes gone through silence. I know a lot of people are trying to track the legend but I don't know if they successfully made it but seems impossible as there is no revelation yet. Though some fake guy appeared but cannot provide solid proof of Satoshi. I am also wondering why the heck does Satoshi need to appear if it's appearance would endanger his entire life including his family?

[Zanab247]

Hello,

I'm wondering how Satoshi has managed to remain anonymous. Governments and high-level institutions have expressed interest in knowing his identity, and some have even tried to employ significant resources to find him, as evidenced by certain news reports.

However, Satoshi did use an account on this forum, along with an email address. All connections to this forum logged his IP address/user-agent and other digital traces.


I don't want his identity to be revealed ! But I'm simply wondering how he has managed to evade the most powerful entities since 2010. Even with current anonymization technologies, the most prominent cybercriminals/activists get caught.

Forgive me if this topic has been covered or if it seems silly to you, but I am amazed by the myth of Satoshi

You don't want his identity to be revealed op, but you are asking why his identity is not revealed yet, Satoshi Nakamoto plan everything well because he knew that things like this will come up for people to be seeking the down fall of BTC, which is what many people are looking for to know Satoshi Nakamoto identity. 

I know you want to know some things about Satoshi Nakamoto history, everything you see around Satoshi Nakamoto was well planned to make sure BTC fulfilled her purpose on earth, which is the evidence we are seeing around the world.

All the power is in the hands of Satoshi Nakamoto, to destroy BTC and to make BTC stronger in the world because no governments or countries have the power to control BTC which are some of the foundation Satoshi Nakamoto has lay in BTC for you and i to enjoy the benefits of BTC.

[Bushdark]

Satoshi's identity has not been revealed until now. You can imagine that Satoshi is someone who is such a genius. How could it not be that when Satoshi created Bitcoin, Satoshi was already thinking about hiding his identity and what is very important is the content of Satoshi's thoughts, how will the next generation develop and be able to protect his wallet? Until now, no one has can hack it

Don't you know that if the identity of SATOSHI is eventually revealed, it is going to affect the price of Bitcoin and other cryptos in the market. He is quite a genius which and he was able to hide his identity so that people would have more confidence in investing in the cryptocurrency market. This has brought huge confidence to the entire market that people are now ready to keep all their investments in Bitcoin because they know that it is going to be profitable for them in a long run.

[Fiasem20]

The fact that governments and high official have looked for all possible means to track Satoshi Nakamoto but haven't been able to reveal his true identity is really amazing.Satoshi Nakamoto knew well to himself that his identity won't be known to the world before the invention of Bitcoin.Satoshi Nakamoto is a man of wisdom,he made the platform a decentralized one and that wasn't enough he remained anonymous.Don't you think if Satoshi Nakamoto reveal himself to the world Bitcoin wouldn't have been till date because the government might tell him to terminate his invention,so his state of anonymity is of our benefit.

[amihada]

Satoshi's identity has not been revealed until now. You can imagine that Satoshi is someone who is such a genius. How could it not be that when Satoshi created Bitcoin, Satoshi was already thinking about hiding his identity and what is very important is the content of Satoshi's thoughts, how will the next generation develop and be able to protect his wallet? Until now, no one has can hack it

Don't you know that if the identity of SATOSHI is eventually revealed, it is going to affect the price of Bitcoin and other cryptos in the market. He is quite a genius which and he was able to hide his identity so that people would have more confidence in investing in the cryptocurrency market. This has brought huge confidence to the entire market that people are now ready to keep all their investments in Bitcoin because they know that it is going to be profitable for them in a long run.

will just by hiding your identity the price of bitcoin go down? I don't think that's what Satoshi's goal was, there must be another, more important reason for Satoshi that his identity hasn't been revealed until now. I even thought about the name Satoshi, whether it's a person or a group, maybe the group that created Bitcoin and named the inventor Satoshi, mysterious...

[pinggoki]

The account wasn't that active for long and most of the posts that he's got came from the original forum before this one, I think it was sourceforge or something like that, he's basically not present for long when this forum was established. The reason why his identity wasn't revealed is probably for the reason that he's smart and he knows how to hide his tracks on the Internet at that time which is pretty easy to do if you know what you're doing. Another reason that I can think of why it's never been revealed is because it's a legacy thing and the people close to Satoshi are probably the right people that respects that legacy and they don't want to reveal who he or she is because they know that once it's revealed, it demystifies everything surrounding the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto which most often what happens to mysteries getting solved.

[Crypt0Gore]

Hello,

I'm wondering how Satoshi has managed to remain anonymous. Governments and high-level institutions have expressed interest in knowing his identity, and some have even tried to employ significant resources to find him, as evidenced by certain news reports.

However, Satoshi did use an account on this forum, along with an email address. All connections to this forum logged his IP address/user-agent and other digital traces.

His emails also surfaced during Craig Wright's trial. How is it that the email provider does not have IP and other information? Even behind a VPN, I believe that major institutions have the means to request the real IP from the VPN provider.

I don't want his identity to be revealed ! But I'm simply wondering how he has managed to evade the most powerful entities since 2010. Even with current anonymization technologies, the most prominent cybercriminals/activists get caught.

Forgive me if this topic has been covered or if it seems silly to you, but I am amazed by the myth of Satoshi

Forget this, no one will find nakamoto ever again, he isn't a criminal after all, if he was do you think that those fake Nakamoto will come out and pretend to be the original? Who tried to come out in the open and claim that he is a criminal? These fake people are trying so hard to be the real Bitcoin creator because what Nakamoto build is Outstanding.

Satoshi Nakamoto is from the future, he knew how to stay out of sight and leave no traces behinds, criminals are criminals and he isn't one, he created something very useful for the world is all.

Satoshi Nakamoto is the true decentralisation practitioner that I know, if anyone wants to build a decentralisation system on the blockchain or somewhere else, they need to leave no traces behind, just like what Satoshi Nakamoto did, this is thr only way that decentralization can work in this world.

[Kakmakr]

You have to put yourself back into the time when Satoshi was still around, to understand how it was back then. The people working on a new currency, did this in secret.. because governments hunted them to arrest them.

Those guys were not your average script kiddie.  They are experts in Cryptography and they operated on other forums that did not track people and also kept no logs of their actions. (That was before Bitcointalk.org were used)

Satoshi only raised "red" flags.. after he posted the white paper and when it became evident to the 3letter agencies that he was succesful with his attempt to replace Fiat currencies.

[mindrust]

The general public still don’t have that information but somehow I believe the US government already knows everything about him. The thing is, sharing that info with us won’t benefit them (for now) so they are keeping it secret. The gov owns all the domains and the internet infrastructure. It is impossible to stay anonymous against the gov forever.

Maybe one day we will learn who satoshi was but when that day comes, they’ll do that to achieve something else. Maybe create panic in the markets? Destroy bitcoin? Dump and pump? I don’t know, but something important will take place when it happens.

[electronicash]

The general public still don’t have that information but somehow I believe the US government already knows everything about him. The thing is, sharing that info with us won’t benefit them (for now) so they are keeping it secret. The gov owns all the domains and the internet infrastructure. It is impossible to stay anonymous against the gov forever.

Maybe one day we will learn who satoshi was but when that day comes, they’ll do that to achieve something else. Maybe create panic in the markets? Destroy bitcoin? Dump and pump? I don’t know, but something important will take place when it happens.

do you think they also got Satoshi's stash?

i have to believe if the US government knew him already then he could be under their watch all the time or he must have been detained underground already or buried under the desert. for the US  government, the world is just too small not to see everyone actually. the world is just like their small village with 7 houses.