The mystery about who invented Bitcoin has reached its peak after Apple Mac computers emerged containing a hidden manifest dedicated to the cryptocurrency.
It spawned a series of conspiracy theories with cryptocurrency obsessives speculating that late Apple founder Steve Jobs was behind the multi-billion dollar project.
Bitcoin was created in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto – a name long thought to be a pseudonym – in response to the financial crisis.
It has become the world’s largest cryptocurrency, worth about $540 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data on Monday.
Moreover, bitcoin has risen 68 percent in value this year as the economic uncertainty triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has led customers to distrust major companies.
It makes Nakamoto one of the richest people in the world – although very little is known about his identity.
Crypto fans have noted that April 5th marks the unofficial 48th birthday of the founder, according to information on a profile with the P2P Foundation.
Here the Daily Mail collects the most popular theories about the so-called ‘Abu Bitcoin’…
Steve Jobs
Conspiracy theorists have speculated that late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was responsible for bitcoin, with some pointing to Nakamoto’s disappearance in 2010 – one year before Jobs’ death.
The internet started picking up speed last week after it emerged that a white paper from Nakamoto had been hidden on every Mac computer sold since 2018.
The discovery was made by tech blogger Andy Baio and has sparked speculation that the Bitcoin founder and Apple genius are somehow connected.
The paper, titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” outlines the state of application of digital currencies globally. It was first published in October 2008.
Crypto investor Lark Davis He noted that Nakamoto appeared to disappear in 2010 – one year before Jobs’ death.
“The schedule is appropriate,” he wrote on Twitter.
Separately, Jason Williams, author of Bitcoin: Hard Money You Can’t F*ck With, said on the platform: “Steve Jobs is Satoshi Nakamoto. I’m serious.”
However, others were quick to point out that Apple temporarily banned Bitcoin from its App Store in 2014 amid concerns about the volatile cryptocurrency.
A viral post last week revealed that a Bitcoin manifest has been hidden on every Apple Mac computer sold since 2018
Experts discover a copy of the 2008 Bitcoin manifesto hidden on every Apple macOS device sold since 2018
Craig White
An Australian computer scientist claiming to have created Bitcoin has come forward in a court case in 2021.
The case – which was heard in Miami – began after his former business partner’s family demanded a share of his fortune.
David Kleiman’s family has claimed that he and White together formed the identity of Nakamoto.
David Kleiman (left) and Craig Wright (right) appear unconvincing as the founders of Bitcoin as part of a lawsuit in Florida, but the court has never ruled on whether they are really “Satoshi Nakamoto.”
White was ordered to pay $100 million in damages to Kleiman’s family after a jury thought he had infringed intellectual property rights.
However, the case made no ruling on whether the pair actually found the Bitcoin.
Those embedded in the crypto community remained skeptical about White’s claims.
Dorian Nakamoto
In 2014, Newsweek ran a story called The Face Behind Bitcoin that claimed to have revealed the father as retired physicist Dorian Nakamoto.
Columnist Leah McGrath Goodwin claims that when she visited him at a home in California he told her he was “no longer involved with it,” adding that he “couldn’t discuss it.”
Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto was incorrectly identified as Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto in 2014
But after the article was published, the Japanese-American scientist insisted he had misunderstood Goodman’s questions.
He also claimed that he had not heard of Bitcoin before the article was published.
However, it has remained the most sensible choice among the crypto community.
Other names associated with the founder of bitcoin
Computer scientist Nick Szabo came under scrutiny for his connection to cryptocurrency after it emerged that he wrote a research paper in 1998 based on “bit gold”.
The paper was seen as an introduction to bitcoin.
Billionaire Twitter CEO Elon Musk was forced to deny he was Nakamoto in a 2017 tweet
However, the American man – who came of Hungarian descent – always denied any involvement.
Other candidates noted are the government and several computer scientists.
Even Elon Musk, the billionaire Twitter CEO, was forced to deny that he was Nakamoto in a 2017 tweet.
