Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? Conspiracy theories about Bitcoin founder go into overdrive

• The internet is going into overdrive over the identity of the “Father of Bitcoin” after a Bitcoin Manifesto appeared in every Apple Mac
• It spawned dozens of conspiracy theories, with some claiming that late Apple founder Steve Jobs actually created the cryptocurrency
• The value of Bitcoin has risen by 68 percent this year after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) made customers distrustful of mainstream firms

The mystery of who invented Bitcoin has reached fever pitch after it emerged that Apple Mac computers contain a hidden manifesto dedicated to the cryptocurrency.

It spawned a slew of conspiracy theories with crypto obsessives speculating that the late Apple founder Steve Jobs was behind the multi-billion dollar venture.

Bitcoin was created in 2008 by ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ – a name long believed to be a pseudonym – in response to the financial crisis.

It has gone on to become the world’s largest cryptocurrency worth around $540 billion according to CoinMarketCap data on Monday.

Also, the value of Bitcoin has increased by 68 percent this year as financial uncertainty triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has made customers distrustful of mainstream firms.

That makes Nakamoto potentially one of the richest people in the world – although very little about his identity is known.

Crypto fans noted that April 5 marked the founder’s unofficial 48th birthday, according to information on a profile with The P2P Foundation.

Here, the Daily Mail rounds up the most popular theories about the so-called ‘Father of Bitcoin’…

Steve Jobs

The internet went into overdrive last week after it emerged that a Nakamoto white paper was hidden on every Mac computer sold since 2018.

The discovery was made by tech blogger Andy Baio and led to speculation that the Bitcoin founder and the Apple genius were somehow related.

The paper – titled ‘Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system’ outlines the case for implementing digital currencies globally. It was first published in October 2008.

Crypto investor Lark Davis pointed out that Nakamoto seemed to disappear in 2010 – a year before Jobs passed away.

“The timeline fits,” he wrote on Twitter.

Jason Williams, author of Bitcoin: Hard Money You Can’t F*ck With, said separately on the platform: ‘Steve Jobs is Satoshi Nakamoto. I mean it seriously.

However, others were quick to point out that Apple temporarily banned Bitcoin from its app store in 2014 due to concerns over volatile cryptocurrencies.

Craig White

An Australian computer scientist came forward and claimed to have created Bitcoin in a 2021 lawsuit.

The case – heard in Miami – was started after his former business partner’s family demanded a share of his fortune.

The family of David Kleiman alleged that he and White together made up the identity of Nakamoto.

White was ordered to pay $100 million in damages to Kleiman’s family after a jury found he had violated intellectual property rights.

However, the case did not rule on whether the pair had actually found Bitcoin themselves.

Those embedded in the crypto community have been skeptical of White’s claims.

Dorian Nakamoto

In 2014, Newsweek published a story called ‘The Face Behind Bitcoin’ which claimed to have revealed the father as retired physicist Dorian Nakamoto.

Columnist Leah McGrath Goodwin claims that when she visited him at his California home, he told her he was ‘no longer involved in it’, adding that he ‘can’t discuss it.’

However, after the article was published, the Japanese-American researcher insisted that he had misunderstood Goodman’s question.

He also claimed that he had not heard of Bitcoin before the article was published.

However, he has remained the most plausible choice among the crypto community.

Other names associated with the Bitcoin founder

Computer scientist Nick Szabo was investigated for his connection to the cryptocurrency after it emerged that he had written a research paper in 1998 based on “bit of gold.”

The paper was seen as a precursor to bitcoin.

However, the American man – who came from Hungarian descent – had always denied any involvement.

Other candidates that have been noted include the government and various computer scientists.

Even billionaire Twitter CEO Elon Musk was forced to deny he was Nakamoto in a 2017 tweet.