On the hunt for Satoshi.
Finding Satoshi ("On the Hunt for Satoshi") is a documentary that dives into the four-year investigation by renowned American journalist William D. Cohan and private investigator Tyler Maroney. The film was released as a fully independent project on a dedicated YouTube channel and website.
The filmmakers interviewed industry figures such as Strategy chairman Michael Saylor, former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler, co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Fred Ehrsam, and many others.
The authors conclude that Bitcoin was developed not by one, but by two cryptographers, namely Hal Finney and Len Sassaman. Each had their roles: Finney wrote the original Bitcoin code, while Sassaman likely prepared the technical documentation and wrote the White Paper.
Several arguments support this version.
Firstly, Len Sassaman and Hal Finney were close friends. Finney became the first recipient of BTC in history. In other words, this could have been a test transaction between two developer-creators of the system.
Secondly, it is noted that Nakamoto's activity hours corresponded to the time zone of his friends. This version links Satoshi's disappearance to the passing of both alleged candidates: Sassaman died in 2011, and Finney in 2014, after a prolonged illness.
Hal Finney's identity, alongside Adam Back, is frequently mentioned in the list of candidates for the role of Satoshi. Moreover, while Adam Back created the Proof-of-Work concept within Hashcash, Hal Finney proposed the Reusable Proof of Work (RPoW) consensus. This system enabled the solution to the double-spending problem. As for Len Sassaman, he was known to be part of the cypherpunk movement and developed solutions for network anonymity, specifically Mixmaster. He relied on the work of another well-known cryptographer, David Chaum, the creator of eCash — a precursor to cryptocurrencies. The filmmakers generally dismiss other candidates, but it's worth mentioning all of them.
Following the cypherpunk trail.
Why has the identity of Bitcoin's creator been considered the main mystery of the crypto industry for over 17 years? The long-standing interest from the community is easily explained — by early 2026, the market cap of the leading cryptocurrency surpassed $1.5 trillion.
On the other hand, estimates from Satoshi mining research suggest that the accumulated wealth of the mysterious developer in the early years may exceed 1.1 million BTC. This means that potentially Nakamoto is one of the richest people on the planet. His actions or inactions literally affect the price of the financial asset used as a strategic reserve by large companies and even entire countries.
However, people strive to unravel Nakamoto's mystery not just because of BTC's price. It is unclear whether the developer acted alone or if it was a group of people, and whether he has disappeared, is alive, and working on new projects — this is very intriguing. The scale of the technology created speaks for itself. In attempts to establish the identity of the anonymous, researchers gather and compare any available information.
The few clues usually include the text of the Bitcoin White Paper and posts/messages from the developer himself on the Bitcointalk forum. Both his overall technical proficiency and the peculiarities of the program development are analyzed. For example, Satoshi used C++ as the programming language, and the first version of the Bitcoin client was for the Windows operating system (OS), which enthusiasts often interpret as evidence of experience working at Microsoft.
Satoshi's connection to the cypherpunk movement also looks convincing: for many years, different representatives of this trend have sought to create electronic money not controlled by states and banks. A hidden message left by Nakamoto in the Bitcoin genesis block hints at the shortcomings of the traditional banking system — a message clearly in the spirit of cypherpunks.
Additionally, the White Paper contains direct references to the works of other notable cypherpunks, including Wei Dai and Adam Back.
On April 8, journalists from The New York Times, following their own investigation, announced that Back was indeed the creator of Bitcoin.
The New York Times and Adam Back.
British cryptographer Adam Back has consistently been among the most likely candidates for the role of Satoshi for many years. He is now primarily known as the founder of blockchain company Blockstream, but in the past, Back proposed the idea of Proof-of-Work implemented in the Hashcash system — as a postal anti-spam mechanism.
The Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm in Bitcoin is essentially an interpretation of the electronic cash concept proposed by Back and a solution to the double-spending problem. Interestingly, a reference to the original Hashcash work is included in the Bitcoin White Paper. This fact is cited as an argument by journalists from the American newspaper. Another argument is based on linguistic analysis: both Back and Nakamoto often confused 'it's' and 'its', wrote 'half way' and 'down side' separately, added unnecessary spaces, and used British spellings.
However, the features of British/American word usage in Nakamoto's messages are not particularly sensational. In a Bits.media article published before the NYT article, we already pointed this out, as well as the reference in the genesis block to the British newspaper The Times. Most likely, the cryptocurrency creator is a native English speaker, meaning he lived in an English-speaking country, such as the USA or the UK.
By the way, Adam Back has worked at Microsoft. However, since Windows simply dominates the OS market, this choice of OS may just have coincided with the rapid spread of BTC. Additionally, Adam Back has long denied that he is the mysterious developer.
Alternative versions.
Can't forget about other frequently mentioned candidates for the role of Satoshi among the cypherpunks: Nick Szabo, who proposed the BitGold system, and Wei Dai with his b-money system, which Nakamoto referenced in the White Paper — just like the works of Adam Back.
A special mention goes to programmer and cryptographer Paul Calder Le Roux. He heads a criminal syndicate. His incarceration could explain Nakamoto's disappearance. Additionally, he developed data encryption programs, including in C++, drafted stylistically similar documentation, and used the pseudonym Solotshi in fake documents — long before the advent of BTC.
Finally, there are conspiracy theories suggesting that Bitcoin is a creation of American intelligence agencies. Interestingly, in 1996, the National Security Agency (NSA) published an article titled 'How to Create a Mint: The Cryptography of Anonymous Electronic Cash.' This work is very close to the technical documentation of Bitcoin not only in format. It addresses cryptography issues and the potential for creating an electronic monetary system, just like the White Paper. Moreover, the SHA-256 hashing algorithm used in Bitcoin was also invented by NSA employees.
Conclusion.
There is still no consensus on the identity of Bitcoin's creator: The New York Times journalists point to Adam Back, while the creators of the film 'Finding Satoshi' lean towards the partnership of Hal Finney and Len Sassaman. However, many, including well-known crypto enthusiasts, believe that Nakamoto's identity is not crucial and is better left a mystery.#TetherFreezes$344MUSDTatUSLawEnforcementRequest #CanTheDeFiIndustryRecoverQuicklyFromAaveExploit? $BTC