The creator of Bitcoin, the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, who last communicated in 2010, remains a mystery. Many in the cryptocurrency community wonder who is behind this pseudonym. It is known that one of the candidates for the role of Satoshi Nakamoto is American businessman Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla. Let's consider why he is linked to the creation of #bitcoin and what Musk himself says about it.
Who is Elon Musk?
Elon Reeve Musk is an American entrepreneur and the founder of Tesla, a well-known electric car company, as well as SpaceX, a company focused on space technology. He is also involved in the creation of the payment system PayPal, as well as other successful projects including Neuralink and OpenAI. In 2022, Musk became the owner of the former Twitter, which he renamed to X.
Musk was born in South Africa in 1971. At the age of 17, he moved to Canada, and at 24, he moved to the United States. He holds multiple degrees, including a bachelor's degree in economics and physics from the University of Pennsylvania.
One of his earlier projects was Zip2, a company that developed software. Musk developed an interest in programming in his childhood when he received his first Commodore VIC-20 computer. At the age of 12, he created and sold a game called "Blastar" for $500.
Zip2 was acquired by Compaq in 1999 for $307 million. Musk sold many of his projects to major corporations in the following years.
In 2018, Musk was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his contributions to science. In 2022, he topped Forbes' list of the richest people on the planet for the first time and has repeatedly been named Person of the Year by various major media outlets.
Why is Elon Musk considered the creator of Bitcoin?
Musk has brought innovative ideas to many of his projects, causing a revolution. For example, Tesla has propelled the development of the electric car market, and SpaceX has offered ways to reduce the cost of space travel.
On the other hand, Satoshi Nakamoto revolutionized the world of payments. Bitcoin became an alternative to traditional fiat currencies controlled by regulators. Musk also has experience creating payment instruments (PayPal). Additionally, the businessman has a strong understanding of programming. Many believe that he has enough knowledge and experience to create Bitcoin.
Another argument in favor of Musk being Nakamoto is his interest in cryptocurrencies. According to his own words, digital assets help fight inflation. Musk has a particular fondness for Dogecoin. Media reports claim that he secretly financed this crypto project.
It is interesting to note that in 2021, analysts discovered that 37% of American investors rely on Musk's tweets when making investment decisions. Therefore, mentions of crypto projects in his microblog often lead to an increase in their value. Musk has repeatedly "pumped" DOGE.
Musk's actions have gained attention from the crypto community. Many participants believe that his interest in cryptocurrency indicates his possible involvement in creating Bitcoin. Musk himself is convinced that Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym and that the cypherpunk Nick Szabo is behind it.
For and Against
Let's consider the arguments supporting the theory that Elon Musk could be Satoshi Nakamoto:
The businessman has significant programming experience, which could possibly be enough to create a project like Bitcoin.
In many of his projects, Musk promotes the ideology of innovative products, similar to Bitcoin.
Elon actively engages in the crypto community, publicly endorsing Bitcoin. Tesla, his company, is also one of the largest investors in BTC among public companies.
However, there are also arguments against Musk being the creator of Bitcoin:
Musk himself has stated that he lacks the knowledge to develop a project of Bitcoin's scale and hinted that it could have been developed by Nick Szabo.
Musk is more of a businessman than a developer.
It is widely believed that Satoshi Nakamoto is Japanese, whereas Musk does not have Japanese roots.
Thus, there are arguments both for and against Musk being Satoshi Nakamoto.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts in the comments.