Recent blockchain analysis has suggested that Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin, possibly used a Canadian exchange now owned by Kraken. The revelation, presented by Coinbase executive Conor Grogan, could mean that Kraken could identify Satoshi through historical transaction data. This comes just months after a video by HBO claiming Peter Todd is Satoshi.
Key Findings from the Research
Grogan’s work would indicate there may be a connection between some of the earliest Bitcoin wallets and CaVirtEx, a Canadian exchange bought by Kraken in 2016. He reckons Satoshi has around 1.096 million BTC—now worth more than $108 billion. That would make Satoshi far richer than most of the famed billionaires.
According to Grogan, Satoshi was last active on-chain in 2014. He identified a cluster of addresses exhibiting what is believed to be the “Patoshi Mining Pattern,” thought to be related to Satoshi’s mining operations. The pattern was originally discovered by security researcher Sergio Demian Lerner.
The research reveals that these addresses have conducted 24 Bitcoin transactions altogether, with the majority of them sending Bitcoins to an address marked “1PYYj.” That address itself also received Bitcoin from CaVirtEx, suggesting it may be associated with the early Bitcoin community.
Potential Consequences for Kraken
Grogan theorizes that Jesse Powell, co-founder of Kraken, may have access to know-your-customer records from CaVirtEx that could identify Satoshi. The social media account of Kraken responded to Grogan’s discoveries with a joke, saying, “We are all Satoshi.” But there has been no comment on these findings from Powell himself.
Crypto community critics have come out to say they are skeptical of the implications of this research. Some say it is unlikely that Kraken would hold records that could pinpoint Satoshi since earlier exchanges had looser Know Your Customer regulations, therefore not making it easy to trace identities.
Community Reactions
The crypto community is divided over Grogan’s findings. Some point out the flaws in tracing Satoshi to CaVirtEx, noting that Bitcoin transactions can have jumped between numerous wallets; they say it would be quite possible for a random user to receive BTCs from CaVirtex and then transfer them to addresses attributed to Satoshi.
Despite the scepticism, Grogan insists his findings only reinforce the belief that Satoshi’s coins are dead. He said the fact that wallets linked with Satoshi have not shown any movement since 2014 was a good sign for the cryptocurrency market.
The possibility that Kraken may have information concerning the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto adds a whole new layer to the ongoing mystery of the creator of Bitcoin. While Grogan’s research provides interesting connections, the skepticism from the crypto community underlines the challenges of tracing identities in the decentralized world of cryptocurrencies.
