The cryptocurrency space is shrouded with mystery and secrecy. Well, that no surprise, as anonymity is one of the key foundations of the decentralized industry. Furthermore, the desire to remain hidden runs deep within the halls of blockchains and digital assets.
There are plenty of mysteries in the world. However, modern-day mysteries in the digital realm are something new. With that said, lets take a look at two of the greatest mysteries in the cryptocurrency sector.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto — creator of the first cryptocurrency?
On October 31st, 2008, a paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” was sent out to a cryptography mailing list. The paper described how peers can send a value of exchange between each other without having to rely on trust. The author of the paper had the name “Satoshi Nakamoto.” However, no one knew who this person was.
Now, over its 14-year history, many people have been accused of being Satoshi. According to Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), Hal Finney is the most likely candidate to fill Satoshi’s shoes. Finney was a computer scientist who was an early Bitcoin developer, and he was also the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction from Satoshi’s wallet. Additionally, Finney lived in the same neighborhood as Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, who was also accused of being the anonymous coder. However, Dorian denied the claims. Its possible that Finney used the name of his neighbor to keep a low profile. Unfortunately, Finney passed away in 2014 due to complications of ALS.
Nick Szabo is another candidate who has been considered for being Satoshi. Szabo is a decentralized currency enthusiast and wrote the paper for “Bit Gold”, which was a predecessor to Bitcoin’s inception. Moreover, Szabo is known to be a fan of using pseudonyms; Szabo’s initials, N.S., are the opposite of Satoshi’s, S.N.
Another likely candidate is Adam Back. Back was one of the first two people to receive an email from Satoshi. Back is also the creator of Hashcash, a proof of work (POW) system designed to limit email scams. Many people have even pointed out Back’s writing style matching that of Satoshi’s.
However, there is no hard evidence to prove any of the three identities as the creator.
Who is “crypto queen” Ruja Ignatova?
The cryptocurrency space is littered with scammers and illicit players. However, none is more notorious than Ruja Ignatova, known as the “crypto queen”.
Ignatova was born in Bulgaria to Roma parents. However, when she was 10 years old, her parents moved to Germany, and as a result, she later acquired German citizenship.
Onecoin was a cryptocurrency-pyramid scam that was founded with the help of Ignatova. In 2017, the scam cheated the public of around $4 billion, and Ignatova has been missing since October 25th of the same year. Ignatova was last seen leaving Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, for Athens.
The whereabouts of Ignatova are still unknown, but many still presume that she is still in Greece. The United States FBI has listed Ignatova on their most-wanted list. Moreover, the FBI is offering a reward of $100,000 for information that can result in her arrest.