Ripple CTO "Satoshi Likely Lost Private Key"

▲ Bitcoin, Satoshi(?)/ChatGPT generated image ©

A claim suggesting that the vast fortune of Bitcoin's founder, valued at $70 billion, is likely lost forever has garnered significant attention in the virtual asset industry.

U.Today, a cryptocurrency specialized media outlet, reported on April 8 (local time) that David Schwartz, Ripple's Chief Technology Officer, expressed the view that the private key of Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin (BTC), is highly likely to be permanently lost. CTO Schwartz offered this opinion during a recent discussion of investigative journalist John Carreyrou's findings, which named Adam Back as a potential Satoshi candidate. Schwartz stated, "It appears that no one currently alive holds the key to access Satoshi's Bitcoin wallet."

Satoshi's wallet is estimated to hold approximately 1.1 million BTC, an astronomical sum exceeding $70 billion at current valuations. However, for over 15 years since Bitcoin's launch, these funds have never been moved, which is considered the strongest evidence suggesting that the founder has lost control over the assets. Political commentator Josh Barro hypothesized that Satoshi might simply be too embarrassed to reveal that they lost their private key.

CTO Schwartz assessed this loss hypothesis as quite compelling. Schwartz analyzed that whoever Satoshi is, they would not want the fact of losing the key to become known to the world. He added, "Even technically capable developers frequently fail to manage their early-generated private keys meticulously, missing out on billions of dollars in opportunities." Even Schwartz himself, who designed the XRP Ledger, was mentioned as a Satoshi candidate but dismissed the related suspicions, stating that he first encountered Bitcoin only in 2011.

Schwartz also showed caution regarding the claim that Adam Back is Satoshi. This is because, while Back is an excellent cryptographer who inspired the creation of Bitcoin, he himself exhibits economic activities that do not suggest he possesses immense wealth. If Back were Satoshi, despite being worth $70 billion, he would still rely on external funding or salaries. This ultimately leads to the inference that he cannot touch the assets because he lost the key.

The fact that Satoshi's Bitcoins are not entering the market is exacerbating the supply shortage in the virtual asset market. The certainty that over 5% of the total supply is permanently locked up has led to an increase in Bitcoin's scarcity. The virtual asset industry believes that the whereabouts of the presumed lost private key, as much as Satoshi's identity, will remain the greatest mystery in blockchain history.

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