- A researcher has presented new evidence disputing the claim that computer scientist Hal Finney created Bitcoin
- The evidence claims that Finney was taking part in a race while the real Bitcoin creator pseudonymously known as Satoshi Nakamoto was replying to emails
- The evidence comes at a time when Craig Wright is still fighting to be recognized as the original creator of the Bitcoin blockchain
Software engineer Jameson Lopp has presented more reasons why the late computer scientist Hal Finney isn’t Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. According to Lopp, Finney was participating in a 10-mile race in California on April 18, 2009, while Nakamoto was having an email conversation with Mike Hearn, a Bitcoin developer. The new evidence comes when Craig Wright, a computer scientist, is engaged in court battles claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, although the crypto community is skeptical of him being Nakamoto.
Racing and Inconsistent Coding Styles
In a blog post titled ‘Hal Finney Was Not Satoshi Nakamoto,’ Lopp analyzes the race, IP addresses, transactions, emails and “inconsistencies in coding styles” to fuel his belief that Finney didn’t create the Bitcoin blockchain.
Hal Finney was a legendary Cypherpunk, but he was not Satoshi.
Today I present my research to support that claim.https://t.co/gZVQv3QW0B— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) October 21, 2023
According to Lopp, at the time Finney was running in Santa Barbara, California, Nakamoto was exchanging emails with Mike Hearn, an early Bitcoin developer, adding that there’s no way Finney was “interacting with a computer” while running.
In the email conversation, Nakamoto sent Hearn some BTC in a transaction that was confirmed on the blockchain before Finney touched the finish line.
The investigator added that Finney was later diagnosed with ALS in 2010, a disease that saw him confined in a motorized wheelchair since it affected most of his voluntary muscles making him unable to interact with a computer through typing.
17 Forum Posts and Different Personas
At this time, Nakamoto was still strong “with 4 code check-ins and 17 forum posts.” Finney and Nakamoto’s IP addresses were also different.
Lopp also noted that Finney and Nakamoto had different coding styles and personas, further diluting claims of Finney being the real Bitcoin creator.
Although the evidence shows why Finney isn’t Nakamoto, it doesn’t reveal Nakamoto’s identity, keeping the search for the actual Bitcoin creator active.
