Questions surrounding the fate of Bitcoin’s mysterious creator continue to resurface, as speculation grows over whether the keys to the estimated $70 billion fortune attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto are permanently lost.
Adding fuel to the debate, Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has suggested that accessing those early holdings may no longer be possible, intensifying long-standing uncertainty about one of crypto’s greatest unresolved mysteries.
Latest Bid To Identify Satoshi
David Schwartz’s assertion follows a Wednesday exposé published by the New York Times, suggesting that Adam Back is the most likely individual behind the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym, long associated with Bitcoin’s elusive creator.
John Carreyrou, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, concluded after an 18-month investigation that Back is Satoshi based on a combination of grammatical analysis, background research, and in-person interviews.
“I am not Satoshi,” Back retorted in a post on X, dismissing the article as a “combination of coincidence and similar phrasing from people with similar experiences and interests.”
 
Lost Keys, Lost Fortune
Carreyrou’s latest claim that Adam Back is Satoshi was quickly dismissed by legions of Bitcoiners online, pointing to his current financial behavior as inconsistent with what would be expected of Bitcoin’s creator. Satoshi’s Genesis wallets are estimated to hold around 1.1 million Bitcoin, over 5% of the total 21 million supply, placing the creator’s fortune at a whopping $70 billion at current market prices.
Jared Polis recently highlighted this apparent contradiction on X while commenting on the discussion, noting: “He doesn’t seem to show in any way that he is worth $70 billion; in fact, he seems to be hustling and scrapping together funds from VCs for his company.”
Political commentator Josh Barro proposed a hypothetical explanation for why Bitcoin’s creator might appear short on funds despite controlling vast digital wealth, suggesting: “What if he is Satoshi Nakamoto but also lost the keys, a super embarrassing fact he doesn’t want to admit?”
The idea drew attention from David Schwartz, who did not endorse the claim that Back is Satoshi but agreed with the broader premise, quipping, “It does seem likely that whoever Satoshi Nakamoto is or was, nobody alive today has access to the keys.”
Satoshi has not been publicly heard from since sending an email back on April 26, 2011.
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