Has Bitcoin Inventor Nakamoto Emerged to Promote a New Blockchain?

Bitcoin, the oldest and largest cryptocurrency in an ever-expanding field, has a mysterious past. The digital currency was created by an individual or team of programmers going by the name "Satoshi Nakamoto," widely believed to be a pseudonym. Now, The Verge and other outlets are reporting that an individual claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto has reached out, reemerging from secrecy to discuss a new blockchain project. But can the emails be believed? And what would the project entail?

According to The Verge's report, the publication received an email from an individual claiming to be the secretive Bitcoin developer late last week It was brief and cut directly to the point, indicating that the author "met with the SEC yesterday" and saying "I am ready to talk." The author of the email did not provide a real name though indicated that recent leaks had obligated him to reach out to the press, although his goal was to remain anonymous. "The government knows who I am, and that's the way it should be," he claimed. "The public doesn't know, and I'm going to have it remain that way."

What would cause this mysterious individual to reach out to various news organizations? It seems that the primary reason was to promote a new project based on blockchain technology. CoinProject.org is the project that the tipster pointed to in detail.

By the estimation of editors at The Verge, the purported Bitcoin inventor "was unable to provide the kind of evidence that would be necessary to definitely prove his identity as Satoshi." He declined to sign a message with a particular identifying key that would be linked to the online presence of Satoshi, and he did not demonstrate that he was able to access earlier email addresses known to have at one point been linked to the Bitcoin developer. Perhaps most tellingly, though, he refused to move Bitcoins that are known to belong to the true creator of the cryptocurrency. Although The Verge claims that the evidence this tipster provided was extensive, it was also all publicly available through other sources.

All of this leaves analysts wondering if the mysterious email author was legitimate or a fake. If he is a fake, it's likely that the scammer was attempting to latch a new project onto one of the most famous names in the entire cryptocurrency space. On the other hand, if the tipster is truly the inventor ofthe first digital currency, it's possible that this new project could be equally game-changing. The Verge points out, though, that there have been other examples of fake Satoshis in the past, so investors are well advised to be cautious.