Nakamoto’s Holdings May Exceed $108 Billion
The pseudonymous Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, may now be worth more than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. That’s according to new onchain research that puts Nakamoto’s Bitcoin holdings above $108 billion-a tidy sum greater than the $106 billion estimated to be held by Gates.
Conor Grogan, a director at Coinbase, tweeted citing analysis from Arkham Intelligence that Nakamoto’s holdings amount to 1.096 million BTC.
In all, this study estimates Satoshi to own 1.096M BTC, $108B worth, making them, on paper at least, wealthier than Bill Gates”, Grogan said via a Feb. 5 post on X.
Nakamoto Among the Richest in the World Bitcoin’s appreciation in value continues to catapult Nakamoto further up the rankings of the richest man. If true, the estimates would see Nakamoto become the 16th wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes’ Billionaires.
Despite this, Nakamoto’s identity remains unknown. Theories range from Nakamoto being a single individual to a group of developers who launched Bitcoin in 2009. Over the years, several people have claimed to be Nakamoto, but none have provided verifiable proof.
Could Kraken Reveal Nakamoto’s Identity?
A new theory postulates that CEX Kraken might have critical information that could unmask Nakamoto’s identity. Grogan says Nakamoto’s last known dealings with a CEX were through Cavirtex, a Canadian exchange that was acquired by Kraken in 2016.
“CaVirtEx was acquired by Kraken back in 2016. To that end, there’s a good possibility that @jespow might have the true identity behind Satoshi if they kept any KYC data on this wallet”, Grogan said.
That would mean Kraken might possess some very valuable records pertaining to Nakamoto’s true identity, provided Cavirtex kept Know Your Customer (KYC) data from that period.
Did Cavirtex Implement KYC Rules?
One complication in tracing Nakamoto onto Kraken: most early crypto exchanges didn’t have strict KYC verification in place. In fact, Kraken was among the first exchanges to implement its KYC in 2014, but for all users, full compliance came into play only in 2017 and 2018.
By the time Kraken bought Cavirtex in 2016, there was no documentation to affirm that the exchange had KYC policies for its entire clientele. Since such information does not exist, linking Nakamoto’s identity with these transactions remains challenging.
Speculation on the Identity of Nakamoto Ongoing
Cointelegraph has reached out to Kraken for clarification regarding the availability of information about Nakamoto’s wallet. Additional information about the “Patoshi pattern” supposedly characterizing Nakamoto’s Bitcoin stash will also be requested from Arkham Intelligence.
If Bitcoin continues to grow in price, then Nakamoto’s estimated fortune can surge even higher. In any case, without Nakamoto either coming out into the open or moving his Bitcoins, this fortune remains one of the greatest mysteries of unclaimed wealth within the crypto world.
