The Dorian Nakamoto Mystery: How an Ordinary Engineer Became Bitcoin's False Prophet

In early 2014, investigative journalist Leah Goodman of Newsweek made a controversial claim that shook the crypto community: she believed she had identified Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s mysterious creator. The man she pointed to was Dorian Nakamoto, a 65-year-old Japanese American engineer living in the foothills of Los Angeles. Goodman’s investigation seemed compelling at first glance, but this case would ultimately highlight just how difficult it is to pierce the veil surrounding Bitcoin’s anonymous founder.

Who is Dorian Nakamoto? The Man Newsweek Claimed Found Satoshi

Dorian Nakamoto held a compelling resume: a bachelor’s degree in physics from California Polytechnic State University and a career in computer engineering. What made him Goodman’s primary suspect was a biographical detail—his original name was Satoshi Nakamoto. In 1973, he legally changed his name to Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto and had not used his birth name since. The public seemed primed to accept this identity, and media outlets ran with the story. However, the real Satoshi Nakamoto had other plans.

After disappearing from public view for three years, Satoshi Nakamoto suddenly resurged on the P2P Foundation platform with a decisive statement: “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.” Simultaneously, Dorian himself vehemently denied any involvement with Bitcoin’s creation. In interviews, he casually mentioned that he had only first heard about Bitcoin from his son, crushing any remaining credibility of Goodman’s investigation. The incident became a cautionary tale about making assumptions based on circumstantial evidence.

Multiple Theories on Satoshi’s True Identity

Despite the Dorian Nakamoto debacle, the search for Bitcoin’s creator has spawned numerous competing theories:

The Individual Developer Hypothesis: Some analysts believe Satoshi Nakamoto is a single technical expert—a master of cryptography and computer science who possessed both the conceptual brilliance and coding prowess to invent Bitcoin.

The Collective Identity Theory: Others argue that “Satoshi Nakamoto” is a pseudonym masking a team or consortium of developers who collaborated to create the protocol. This theory suggests that distributed authorship provides both greater expertise and anonymity.

Proposed Candidates: Over the years, several individuals have faced speculation or stepped forward with claims. Computer scientist Nick Szabo has long been rumored to be Satoshi due to his prior work on bit gold. Japanese mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki has similarly attracted attention. Yet none of these theories have ever been substantiated with definitive proof.

The Anonymity Principle: Fundamentally, Satoshi’s anonymity reflects Bitcoin’s core philosophy—a rejection of centralized authority in favor of decentralized, pseudonymous systems. Privacy protection is not accidental but foundational to Bitcoin’s design.

The WikiLeaks Incident: A Clue to Satoshi’s Disappearance

On December 5, 2010, a significant event unfolded on the Bitcoin forum. As community members began discussing whether WikiLeaks should accept Bitcoin donations, Satoshi Nakamoto—characteristically terse in technical discussions—broke his usual demeanor to issue an urgent warning. His message was stark: “This project needs to grow gradually so that the software can be strengthened along the way. I implore WikiLeaks not to accept Bitcoin donations. We are still a small, nascent, experimental community. If we are not careful at this stage, it could harm Bitcoin.”

Just seven days later, on December 12, 2010, at 6:22 AM, Satoshi posted what would be his final message on the forum—a mundane technical comment about software implementation details. After that, his email responses became increasingly sporadic, then ceased entirely. The WikiLeaks intervention appears to have been a turning point: Satoshi’s sudden engagement followed by permanent withdrawal suggests he may have realized that Bitcoin had grown beyond his control or that public attention posed an unacceptable risk.

FBI’s Mysterious Response: What Does the Glomar Reply Tell Us?

Investigative journalist Dave Troy filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the FBI, seeking any records related to Satoshi Nakamoto. The Bureau’s response was cryptic: a “Glomar response”—a non-answer that neither confirmed nor denied whether relevant files existed. Troy interpreted this response as highly significant. The FBI’s evasiveness suggests that Satoshi Nakamoto may be a “third party individual” of investigative interest to federal authorities.

Troy has indicated his intention to appeal this decision and pursue additional channels to access classified information about Bitcoin’s founder. The very fact that such a Glomar response was issued is itself telling: it hints that the FBI may possess substantive knowledge about Satoshi’s identity but has chosen to withhold it—perhaps to protect an ongoing investigation or for national security reasons.

Hal Finney: Another Suspect in the Satoshi Enigma

While Dorian Nakamoto was exonerated, another candidate emerged: Hal Finney, an early Bitcoin contributor and cryptography enthusiast. The speculation began with a geographical coincidence: Finney lived just a few blocks away from the home of the Nakamoto who was misidentified as Satoshi. More compellingly, the connection between Finney and Satoshi Nakamoto was demonstrably close. In late 2008, after Satoshi first proposed Bitcoin’s architecture, Finney engaged directly with him, suggesting refinements and improvements. Satoshi responded—and crucially, Satoshi sent the first Bitcoin transaction in history to Hal Finney, cementing their working relationship.

These facts triggered community speculation that Finney might be Satoshi Nakamoto. Yet Finney never confirmed or denied the theory. Instead, he published a reflective essay documenting his early interactions with Satoshi and his role in Bitcoin’s genesis, leaving the question deliberately ambiguous. In August 2014, Hal Finney passed away, and in accordance with his wishes, his body was cryopreserved at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, taking any definitive answers with him to the threshold of an uncertain future.

A Mystery That May Never Be Solved

Satoshi Nakamoto concluded his final forum post with a reflection that has echoed through the years: these were his last words to the world. The identity of Bitcoin’s creator remains one of modern cryptography’s greatest unsolved mysteries. Whether Satoshi is a single genius, a secret team, or something else entirely, the truth may be buried forever beneath layers of anonymity and deliberate obscurity.

What we do know is this: Bitcoin exists, it functions, and its creator chose invisibility over recognition. Perhaps that choice, more than any investigation, reveals the most about who Satoshi Nakamoto truly is.