Satoshi Nakamoto is the author of the Bitcoin whitepaper, published in 2008, and creator(s) of the blockchain network on which Bitcoin is transacted. Nakamoto is responsible, along with many pioneers of cybersecurity and software development, for developing the first blockchain database, solving the double spending problem for digital currency in a distributed system that had troubled researchers for years. 

Satoshi, as he is affectionately called among the cryptocommunity, mined the first Bitcoin block on January 3rd, 2009. A message was embedded in the genesis block: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This refers to both the date and a headline relating to the banking industry in the Bristish publication The Times. This has led some to believe that Satoshi could be British or living in the United Kingdom.

Satoshi’s story is long and shrouded in mystery, with many theories regarding the identity having been put forward in the decade since Bitcoin’s launch. Satoshi, for a while, was posting frequently on a forum he had formed to discuss the development of Bitcoin and the majority of written recordings provably linked to Satoshi comes from this source. The Satoshi Nakamoto Institute, founded in 2013, has collected all of the communication linked to Nakamoto.

Numerous individuals have come forward claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, all without substantial evidence for their claim to the identity. It is estimated that Satoshi holds nearly 1 million Bitcoins.

There are clear reasons for the extreme interest in Satoshi’s identity - Bitcoin single-handedly created an entire new asset class, besides there being a sort of underlying, psychological desire in uncovering the identity of an individual or group that displayed considerable knowledge in a variety of disciplines.