British cypherpunk Adam Bank has told prominent British outlet the Telegraph that Satoshi's nationality is British.
At the same time, he himself denies being Satoshi following the bombshell investigative report published by John Carreyrou, the superstar reporter who famously exposed Theranos's Elizabeth Holmes.
British invention?
There are many surface-level clues that might point to Satoshi's British nationality. The obvious one is the famous reference to a U.K. Times newspaper headline in the first Bitcoin record. Moreover, he has used some idioms that are commonly associated with British English (such as "wet blanket").
That said, Back backs up his theory with something that is much harder to fake: sarcasm. According to Back, Satoshi's posts are laced with a "distinctive dryness."
Back claims that it is difficult to master the subtle peculiarities of British sarcasm for foreigners. He has stated that replicating this tone would be rather hard for an American.
Protecting anonymity
As reported by U.Today, Mark Karpeles, the former head of the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange, has opined that the community should protect the anonymity of the Bitcoin inventor, given that exposing the identity of the person who started it all could negatively affect the value of crypto.
In his interview with the Telegraph, Back cited the case of Phil Zimmermann, the cryptography researcher who invented the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption system and appeared in the crosshairs of the Clinton administration. The British cyberphunk believes that the case likely served as a cautionary tale for Satoshi, and they wanted to remain anonymous in order to avoid likely government scrutiny.
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
