Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Theory: Never Went Dormant, Strategically Cashed Out From Early Bitcoin Wallets Since 2019

Researchers have pitched a new theory about Satoshi Nakamoto — that the Bitcoin creator never went dormant and has been strategically cashing out from early Bitcoin wallets since 2019.

Bitcoin ( BTC ) creator Satoshi Nakamoto may still be active and has been cashing out from early Bitcoin wallets since 2019, according to a new theory.

A Bitcoin research firm, BTCparser, has discovered a large number of Bitcoin wallet addresses that were created in 2010, each holding 50 Bitcoin, and remained untouched until the first “awakening” in November 2019. These wallets have been collectively dubbed the “2010 megawhale” by the firm.

BTCparser's analysis suggests that Nakamoto may have owned these wallets and has been slowly selling the stash while deliberately leaving the 2009 wallets alone to avoid drawing attention.

“It leads me to suspect that the enigmatic 2010 mega whale might actually be Satoshi,” BTCparser stated in a Nov. 19 post. However, the firm emphasized that it is still a “theory, not a conclusion.”

If Satoshi is indeed behind the 2010 wallets, “it paints a picture of a creator who planned meticulously to ensure their privacy,” BTCparser added.

The funds were reportedly pooled into a single P2SH address, which is commonly used for escrow purposes, before being sent to multiple bech32 addresses — an address type that offers lower transaction fees and efficient use of block space.

According to BTCparser, $5 million worth of Bitcoin from these addresses was first sold in November 2019, followed by a second and third sale in the $6–8 million and $11–13 million range in March and October 2020, respectively. The fourth and largest sale was the $176 million liquidation, which took place on Nov. 15.

The crypto exchange where these coins were ultimately deposited, such as Coinbase, may have additional information about the person or entity behind these transactions, unless the whale is operating through intermediaries, BTCparser noted.

The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, has been the subject of much speculation over the years. Several individuals, including Nick Szabo, Adam Back and Hal Finney, have had their names linked to Satoshi's identity.

Szabo and Back have consistently denied the claims, while Finney also refuted the suggestion before his death in 2013 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

In October, an HBO documentary sparked controversy by presenting a theory that Bitcoin cypherpunk Peter Todd invented Bitcoin.

However, Todd himself refuted that conclusion, and most industry pundits agreed that the evidence presented by HBO was weak.

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