A new investigation ties Blockstream CEO Adam Back to Satoshi Nakamoto, dividing crypto enthusiasts. Many see reasons in the theories, but ultimately agree that cryptographic proof will be the real determinant of Satoshi’s personality.
NYT Ropes In Adam Back In Satoshi’s Conspiracy
Adam Back faces new accusations of being Bitcoin’s (BTC) pseudo-founder, Satoshi. The New York Times investigation conducted by John Carreyrou has sparked mixed reactions within the community on the person behind the asset class.
The French-American journalist claimed that the British cryptographer who created HashCash has striking similarities to Satoshi. According to him, Back was an early researcher in cryptography and electronic cash, focusing on growing privacy concerns.
Back was also cited in Satoshi’s Bitcoin white paper before he disappeared. Coincidentally, Back also vanished before reappearing after Satoshi left. This is highly circumstantial, but the crypto community continues to rehash sentiments that Back could be the founder.
Furthermore, Carreyrou argued that Back shares similar writing and sentence structure features with Satoshi. He cited formatting, hyphenation, and general language similarities.
 
In a 1999 message, Back explained that electronic money is a win as long as it is cheaper than fiat. In 2009, Satoshi wrote on Bitcoin’s energy use, adding that it would be less wasteful than the conventional banking activity it would replace.
Among the researchers who posted on Cryptography and Hashcash, only Back referenced WebMoney in addition to hyphenating proof-of-work. Both of these appeared in Satoshi’s emails, including the burning of money for digital coins.
However, Back has always denied links to Satoshi, leaving the question still unanswered. Per the report, Back abstained from BTC in its early days before re-emerging and co-founding Blockstream in 2013. The platform raised more than $1 billion and seems consistent with Satoshi’s actions to take back his creation, the report added.
Meanwhile, pro-crypto commentary has filled social media after the report, with some supporting the position. Others don’t quite agree, saying Satoshi can’t be identified by stylometric analysis alone. Gabriel Horowitz noted that while the evidence is quite convincing, Back might be right to deny allegations.
“Adam Back says he’s not Satoshi. He’s probably right. But some of the evidence is pretty convincing. He invented Hashcash in 1997. Bitcoin’s whitepaper cites it directly. Between 1997 and 1999, he publicly proposed an ecash system with 5 features that ended up in Bitcoin: privacy for both parties, decentralized nodes, built-in scarcity, trustlessness, publicly verifiable protocol.”
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