As announced, today in London a press conference was held during which they “revealed” the alleged true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, later revealing itself to be a pure marketing initiative, with more than a few suspicious aspects.
The “revealed” identity of Satoshi Nakamoto: just a marketing ploy?
The crypto correspondent of BBC News, Joe Tidy, attended the press conference, and then posted on X the revelations that were made.
I’m at a London event billed as the ‘unveiling of the true legal identity of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto’. An odd set up to the press conference as the organiser asked me to pay £500 to attend and appear on stage to ask questions of the billionaire mystery man. pic.twitter.com/3oTB6qX20U
— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) October 31, 2024
Tidy first revealed that participation in the press conference was not only paid, but even cost 500 pounds.
Furthermore, it was reported that at the press conference the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto was present, answering questions from the audience.
In fact, at a certain point, a man named Stephen Mollah took the stage and claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
Tried to film the demonstration but it doesn’t seem to be forthcoming. Here’s Mr Mollah: pic.twitter.com/5VEW5ji9Ne
— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) October 31, 2024
Tidy, however, points out that Mollah had already claimed to be so in the past, to the extent that he is now in a legal dispute about it.
The doubts about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto revealed: successful marketing campaign?
The journalist from BBC News reported that after more than an hour of the press conference, Mollah has still not managed to present any evidence on the matter. He has only told stories.
Mollah is actually already well known to the press.
A few days ago The Standard dedicated an article to him in which he was accused of falsely claiming to be Satoshi.
In fact, according to what The Standard reports, Mollah has been accused of posing as the inventor of Bitcoin even within a legal proceeding for fraud in the crypto sector.
Furthermore, he would also have falsely claimed to possess 165,000 BTC in Singapore.
The real Satoshi, on the other hand, seems to own more than a million BTC, and certainly holds them in non-custodial bearer wallets, and not in Singapore.
Furthermore, in the criminal trial he is facing for a 2022 crypto fraud, Charles Anderson, organizer of today’s press conference, is also involved.
Stephen Mollah is a 58-year-old businessman from Pimlico, a district of London, while Charles Anderson is a 67-year-old from New Malden, in the suburbs of London. The press conference was also held in London, and the company that organized it is PR London Live by Charles Anderson.
Mollah and Anderson are currently out on bail, and their trial is set for November 3, 2025.
The alleged fraud
The alleged fraud of which Mollah and Anderson are accused is said to have occurred between November 2022 and October 2023.
The victim is Dalmit Dohil, who filed a complaint against Mollah and Anderson for fraud by false representation. The two pleaded not guilty during a hearing held last month at the Inner London Crown Court.
Dohil claims that the two stated that Stephen Mollah was Satoshi Nakamoto, and that Mollah owned 165,000 Bitcoin located in Singapore, with the intention of causing a loss to Dalmit Dohil or exposing him to a risk of loss.
The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto
Today, moreover, it is the “birthday” of the legendary Bitcoin whitepaper published by the real Satoshi Nakamoto on October 31, 2008.
Since then, many have pretended to be him, primarily that Craig Wright who was eventually forced by a court to deny being him, in light of clear evidence of his lies.
The case of Stephen Mollah does not seem so different, so much so that practically no one believes him.
There have also been several journalistic attempts to name Satoshi Nakamoto, given that this was certainly a pseudonym, some of which are even recent.
However, obviously it is not enough to claim to be Satoshi: one must also provide the evidence.
The real Satoshi could prove to be so very easily. It would be sufficient for him to sign any digital document with the private key of the address he used to mine the first block of Bitcoin.
That address, in fact, is not only public, but it is also definitely 100% of the creator of Bitcoin, without the slightest doubt.
The private key of that address is only held by Satoshi, and it is private, so if someone were to use it, it could only be him. Furthermore, signing with that private key would be very easy for whoever has it, and above all, the signature would be verifiable by anyone using the public address of the first block of Bitcoin.
Until today, no one has ever managed to do it, and since the real Satoshi Nakamoto is probably deceased, without leaving his keys to anyone, it is likely that no one ever will.