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The mysterious creator of bitcoin has always been a topical conversation and over the years, a great number of self-proclaimed blockchain inventors have said that they once played the role of Satoshi Nakamoto. Of course, none of these so-called Satoshis have ever proven this to the greater cryptocurrency community, but it hasnât stopped lots of people from trying.
Many Satoshis With Little Proof
Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of the Bitcoin blockchain, has always been one of the crypto communityâs most popular subjects because the story is a thought-provoking mystery. Nakamoto could be an individual or a group, and there have been many theories that have caused people to suspect a number of known candidates.
Then there have been individuals that have outright proclaimed that they created the Bitcoin protocol, and they also produce wild stories that are used with the intent to sway peopleâs minds. There are also a few people who havenât really said they once filled Satoshi Nakamotoâs shoes out loud, but have left so-called clues behind so they may be caught. Interestingly, in 2021 there hasnât been any new self-styled Satoshi Nakamotos, but a few years prior, there was a bountiful amount of ostensible Bitcoin inventors.
The Hawaiian Nakamoto
In June 2018, armchair sleuths noticed a resident from Hawaii had filed trademark requests for the name âBitcoin Cash.â The âBitcoin Cashâ trademark requests were filed by a Hawaiian resident named Ronald Keala Kua Maria. At that time, Kua Maria was sitting on a myriad of BCH and Satoshi Nakamoto-related web domains.
Ronald Keala Kua Maria is not really in the public eye, but his websites still claim that he created the Bitcoin network and the sites say he owns certain rights and trademarks.
Kua Maria filed the trademark requests with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that year, and his websites still exist to this day. The self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, Ronald Keala Kua Mariaâs website satoshinakamoto.ws still says that he is Bitcoinâs creator.
The web page states:
I Ronald Keala Kua Maria also known as Satoshi Nakamoto inventor of Bitcoin and blockchain technology hereby affirm that all my copyrights including an equity based electronic reserve currency peer-to-peer electronic cash system.
Phil Wilson âScrontyâ
In September 2018, Bitcoin.com News spoke with a man named Phil Wilson, otherwise known online as âScronty.â Wilson also said he created the Bitcoin protocol and in 2017 he published a story called âBitcoin Origins,â asserting he is 1/3 of the Satoshi Nakamoto group. Wilson claimed at the time that he worked with David Kleiman and Craig Wright.
Phil Wilson or âScrontyâ is still around today but doesnât speak about the âBitcoin Originsâ story as much as he did a few years ago.
Despite his âBitcoin Originsâ story, Wilson has no verifiable proof that he invented the blockchain protocol. Moreover, David Kleiman passed away and Craig Wright denies Wilson was involved. Wright himself has also never convinced the greater crypto community that he invented the Bitcoin protocol. Wilson is still on Twitter to this very day, but he doesnât speak about his alleged involvement with the so-called Satoshi Nakamoto âteamâ as much as he did three years ago.
Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido
Back in 2019, a Belgium native called Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido made a few headlines for claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto. Debo still says heâs Satoshi Nakamoto to this very day as well and operates a Twitter account under the name @realsatoshin. The self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor has also never proven he created the technology, but heâs managed to capture 5,017 followers on Twitter.
Debo Jurgen Etienne Guido is still around today and people can see what he has to say these days on Twitter.
Interestingly, Debo did send testimony by written letter to the court dealing with the Klieman v. Wright case. In the letter, Debo said he was the âgenuine and only originator/creator of the genesis block of the Bitcoin blockchain.â This week, Debo even responded to Elon Muskâs criticisms over Bitcoinâs effect on the global climate.
âOnce a bitcoin is generated, the transactions are far lower in electricity compared to mining,â Debo said to Musk. âNo doubt, China has a big issue with respect (abuse) of the natural environment to generate electricity, but to mine bitcoin on green energy plants is a win-win on ROI.â
Bilal Khalid
In August 2019, a marketing and public relations agency specializing in fintech, Ivy McLemore & Associates published a press release about a man called Bilal Khalid. Even though Khalid had zero proof that he was Satoshi Nakamoto, Ivy McLemore further announced a three-part blog post with a wild story that insists Khalid invented blockchain technology. Khalidâs blog posts stress that during the 2008 crisis, he felt it was the perfect time for the âfinal push for Bitcoin to be created.â
Hey @ivymclemore, just so you're aware, Bilal Khalid is not Satoshi Nakamoto. Have fun promoting his "reveal" whilst your name gets dragged through the mud!
â Riccardo Spagni (@fluffypony) August 18, 2019
Khalid of course has no proof and said that the cryptographic proof he once had was lost forever. The self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor from Pakistan has not made any appearances since the announcement two years ago, and Ivy McLemore stopped tweeting altogether on November 4, 2019. The Pakistani native has been awfully quiet since this announcement and probably realizes no one believes him.
Jörg Molt
During the same week Ivy McLemore stopped tweeting, another self-styled Satoshi Nakamoto appeared on the scene claiming to be a âCo-founder of BitCoin.â The German Jörg Molt told participants who attended the 2019 WCC Vegas Blockchain Week that he was Satoshi.
The German native Jörg Molt believes he was a co-creator of Bitcoin.
Molt also got a photo opportunity with the bitcoin evangelist Andreas Antonopoulos and was sharing the picture around as if Molt and Antonopoulos were close compadres. Antonopoulos immediately declared this was not true and said he had absolutely no relationship with the long-haired pretender.
âApparently, a German person called âJörg Moltâ has been showing a selfie taken with me and telling people that we are friends â This is a LIE,â Antonopoulos tweeted. âI donât know him at all â I have heard from others that he claims to be the founder of Bitcoin and has thousands of BTC â A LIE.â
No one has seen Jörg Molt at any conferences and events since 2019, and his Satoshi Nakamoto claim is now a laughable memory.
Self-Proclaimed Satoshis Are Becoming Rare
There has been a great number of self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamotos over the last decade but none of them have been convincing. Even Bloomberg financial columnist, Matthew Leising, led a number of people to believe that Satoshi Nakamoto was allegedly writing a book. Leisingâs story wasnât verifiable at all, and these days he hasnât mentioned this wild story he pushed into the public eye back in the summer of 2018. But at that time, the so-called Bitcoin inventor published a web portal called Nakamotofamilyfoundation.org with a cryptogram puzzle.
Whatever the case may be, pretending to be Satoshi Nakamoto comes with some perks and notoriety. This list barely scratches the surface when it comes to all the ostensible Nakamotos that have come out of the woodwork. However, since 2019 we havenât seen any new individuals stepping out to claim Nakamotoâs throne. But that doesnât mean they wonât appear again.
What do you think about all the Faketoshiâs that have appeared during the last few years? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
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