The New York Times (NYT) reported in an investigative story that Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto could be British cryptographer and Blockstream CEO Adam Back (아담 백), The Block reported on April 8.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Carreyrou (존 카레이루) analysed tens of thousands of old internet posts, court records and cached emails over 1 year. Using a database containing 134,308 posts from the cypherpunk mailing list, he narrowed 620 early cryptocurrency mailing list users down to 1 person. He also cited hyphen errors, spelling and writing habits.

Carreyrou said Back mentioned all 5 of Bitcoin's core functions in a 1997 cypherpunk post. That was 10 years before the Bitcoin white paper was released. Carreyrou said Back proposed an electronic cash system completely cut off from existing banks, privacy protection for payers and recipients, a decentralised network, inherent scarcity and no need to trust banks.

Hashcash, which Satoshi cited in the Bitcoin white paper, is a technology Back invented himself, and Back was the first to propose combining b-money and Hashcash.

Carreyrou also highlighted a scene in the 2024 HBO documentary "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery" in which Back, sitting on a park bench in Riga, Latvia, stiffens when the producer mentions him as a Satoshi candidate.

Carreyrou explained that he began investigating after becoming suspicious of Back's attitude.

Back has consistently denied claims that he is Satoshi. In the HBO documentary, he denied it and asked for the conversation to be kept private. Carreyrou sent emails requesting email metadata that Back submitted in the Craig Wright (크레이그 라이트) trial, but received no response on 2 occasions.

Speculation over Satoshi's identity is not new. The HBO documentary pointed to Canadian software developer Peter Todd (피터 토드), but Todd immediately denied it. Nick Szabo (닉 사보), Hal Finney (할 피니) and Len Sassaman (렌 새스먼) have also been mentioned as candidates. Australian computer scientist Craig Wright claimed for years that he was Satoshi, but lost in London's High Court in May 2024 after lies and forgery were found.

Wright was given a 1-year suspended prison sentence in December 2024 for violating a court order.