This Man Claims to Be Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto—Should We Believe Him?

Sixteen years ago today, the Bitcoin whitepaper was released by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Now, a British-Asian macroeconomist claims that he is the elusive creator of the leading cryptocurrency, as he revealed Thursday at a small event in London.

On Wednesday, a press release was blasted to journalists, claiming that “a live demonstration” would be conducted to “conclusively” prove that the real Satoshi has been identified. The event was held at the Frontline Club, a prestigious pub in London that insisted it is not affiliated with the event, costing £500 a ticket—with tweeted event photos suggesting that only a handful of people ultimately attended.

Stephen Mollah took the stage claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, Joe Tidy of BBC News reported on Twitter. Mollah told the audience that he had previously attempted to out himself as the creator of Bitcoin, but “someone stopped him”. He also claimed that he was later interviewed by the BBC, yet they did not publish the story.

As the event dragged on for an hour, those in attendance reportedly grew restless as Mollah delayed in showing his evidence—claiming he couldn’t get his laptop working. Eventually, the man pulled up “easy to fake screenshots,” the BBC journalist said.

Charles Anderson, the organizer of the event and “PR manager for Satoshi Nakamoto” according to his LinkedIn, claims to have seen “cryptographic” evidence that Mollah is the real deal—but this was not presented to attendees.

One way that Mollah could prove that he is Satoshi is by moving Bitcoin from the Genesis block. Mollah claimed that he will do that at a later date during a “proper, official press conference.”

“Genesis block Bitcoin cannot be moved as simply as you think,” Mollah told the BBC journalist in the crowd. “It can be moved, but I need to prepare for it. I’ll do it. Very soon.”

At the event, Mollah also claimed to have created the Twitter logo, ChatGPT, and the Eurobond, a type of debt.

Mollah’s LinkedIn account lists the Bitcoin whitepaper as one of his publications, claims that he has patented Bitcoin and blockchain technology, and states that he is an executive director of Coinbase Limited. 

However, he is not listed on the centralized exchange’s board of directors, and Coinbase did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

“I am an innovator in the financial technology. I am known by my Japanese pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. I am the inventor of Bitcoin and blockchain technology,” Mollah’s LinkedIn says. “I am not a Japanese man. I am a British-Asian macroeconomist.”

On Twitter, Mollah has also been sounding this siren from as early as 2014, posting that “there is no any other Satoshi Nakamoto beside me.” In 2018, he posted a spree of tweets calling out all of the “Faketoshis” out there. 

The search for Satoshi has raged on for as long as Bitcoin has been in circulation. Recently, an HBO documentary claimed that the elusive crypto creator was Bitcoin core developer Peter Todd, who has denied the claims—and many Bitcoiners were skeptical of the evidence.

Mollah said that he aimed to put an end to the ongoing speculation Thursday.

“Today, I just wanted to say that it is me, I am here. And I am going to publish, very soon, the documentation that the people need, the journalists need,” he told the audience. “They must stop searching for Satoshi Nakamoto, online or offline, anywhere in the world. Because there is no other Satoshi Nakamoto besides me.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward