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Who created Bitcoin? The million-dollar query is again within the highlight — and this time with a shocking new suspect: Jack Dorsey, the bearded tech sage behind Twitter.
The new theory comes months after the HBO (WBD+2.58% documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” during which the director Cullen Hoback claimed Peter Todd, a 39-year-old Canadian software developer, to be the inventor of Bitcoin. The documentary obtained criticism from the viewers, and since then, Todd has gone into hiding resulting from safety considerations.
Learn extra: Who really created Bitcoin? And who is Craig Wright?
As per the new theory, Dorsey may truly be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous mastermind behind Bitcoin. This theory comes courtesy of Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset analysis at funding administration agency VanEck, who firmly believes that the Twitter co-founder secretly created the world’s most well-known cryptocurrency.
In a series of posts on X, Matthew Sigel argued that Jack Dorsey had each the motive and technical experience to create Bitcoin. He pointed to circumstantial proof, patterns, and intriguing timing coincidences that, in his view, hyperlink Dorsey to the cryptocurrency’s mysterious origins.
The rationale why Sigel made such a daring declare is that Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to carry 1.1 million Bitcoins, that are value roughly $103 billion on the present worth. There are considerations that if Satoshi have been to promote, it might set off an enormous market crash and shake investor confidence.
Sigel argues that revealing Satoshi’s true identification would profit the crypto trade. With Bitcoin worth predictions reaching new extremes, he sees transparency as a option to scale back uncertainty and hypothesis.
Learn extra: Why has Satoshi Nakamoto remained anonymous?
Bitcoin historical past and its reference to Dorsey’s dad and mom
Seán Murray, president of the monetary information website deBanked, has additionally linked Jack Dorsey to Bitcoin’s creation. In a post on X, Murray identified some eyebrow-raising coincidences: Bitcoin’s first-ever transaction supposedly befell on Dorsey’s mom’s birthday, whereas Satoshi mined their ultimate block on Dorsey’s father’s birthday.
Including to the intrigue, Murray highlighted a 2014 incident during which Satoshi’s “GMX” electronic mail was hacked. In keeping with him, the hacker tried to extort Satoshi by claiming to find out about his connection to St. Louis, Missouri — the place the place Dorsey was born and raised. Coincidence or cryptographic breadcrumbs? The thriller deepens.
Learn extra: The history of Bitcoin
What does Dorsey must say?
Up to now, Jack Dorsey has remained silent on the most recent hypothesis. Nonetheless, he has beforehand denied being Satoshi Nakamoto. In an April 2020 interview with computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, Dorsey was requested instantly if he was Bitcoin’s creator. His response? “No, and if I have been, would I let you know?”
Dorsey has lengthy been a vocal advocate for Bitcoin, even introducing a Bitcoin tipping feature on Twitter in 2021. Later that yr, he stepped down as Twitter’s (now X’s) CEO to concentrate on scaling his fintech firm, Block (SQ+0.67%) (previously Sq.), which holds 8038 bitcoins. Coincidentally, Block’s earnings report is set to drop this Thursday.
