Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the person or group who created Bitcoin. Satoshi published the Bitcoin white paper on 31 October 2008, released the first version of the software and mined the genesis block on 3 January 2009, and worked with early developers on mailing lists and forums.

Satoshi gradually stepped back, handed control of the code repository to other developers, and stopped communicating publicly around 2011. Their real identity has never been proven. Several people have been suggested or have claimed to be Satoshi, but none has provided convincing cryptographic proof, such as moving coins from early blocks known to be Satoshi's. In 2024 a UK High Court judge ruled that Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who had long claimed the title, is not Satoshi.

Satoshi is estimated to have mined around one million bitcoin in the network's first year, and those coins have essentially never moved. The smallest unit of bitcoin, the satoshi, is named in their honour.