Adam Back, the CEO of Blockstream who has been named by the New York Times as the most likely person behind Satoshi Nakamoto, may have had a more practical reason for cooperating with the research.

Various people in the industry are now suggesting that Back used the global media attention as free advertising for Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR), his Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company that is set to go public soon.

Did Adam Back use the NYT Satoshi story as free BSTR advertising?

John Carreyrou, the investigative journalist behind the striking revelation, stated that Back agreed to pose for a NYT photographer in Miami weeks before publication.

“If you take a company public — it’s incredibly good PR. Especially when it costs almost nothing,” said ETF analyst James Seyffart.

The timing is important because BSTR is completing a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners I. The deal includes a PIPE of $1.5 billion, the largest ever announced for a Bitcoin treasury company.

BSTR aims to start with more than 30,000 BTC on the balance sheet. This would place it among the largest public Bitcoin treasuries.

The merger was originally expected to be completed in Q1 of 2026, depending on the approval of the SEC and shareholders.

Whether Back consciously sought media attention or simply welcomed it, the Satoshi story came to him at exactly the right commercial moment.