On October 31, a London event that promised to unveil the true identity of Bitcoin’s mysterious inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, left journalists unconvinced and questioning the credibility of the latest claimant, Stephen Mollah.
Dressed in a unique outfit—a colourful turban, camouflage pants, and a black suit coat—Mollah took the stage at the Front Line Club, asserting he was the creator of Bitcoin. The venue, however, later clarified it had no official connection to the event.
A man called Stephen Mollah has taken to the stage. He claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto – the mystery inventor of Bitcoin. He’s claimed this before and is currently in legal dispute about it. He will now provide evidence, he says. pic.twitter.com/XkapPT7y3c
— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) October 31, 2024
The atmosphere was sceptical from the start, with BBC News reporter Joe Tidy noting that attendees had been asked to pay £500 for a chance to appear on stage and question Mollah.
The unusual proceedings began with a humorous microphone test from event organizer Charles Anderson, followed by a lengthy monologue that included Anderson’s claims of inventing “energy recovery systems” and even playing a role in “Britain’s Got Talent.” Mollah finally took the stage, introducing himself as a “business person” and “economic scientist” who claimed to have invented Bitcoin.
Yet, when it came time to prove his claims, Mollah’s evidence fell flat. He presented screenshots of posts allegedly made by Nakamoto on a Bitcoin forum nearly 16 years ago, but Tidy noted they were “easy to fake.” Mollah insisted he had “timestamped” and “paper copies” of these posts, but the evidence was unconvincing.
When pressed for a live demonstration, Mollah claimed he lacked access to the private keys for the original “Genesis coins,” asserting they were hidden across eight computers worldwide, guarded against potential hackers.
Further complicating Mollah’s claim, he and Anderson are currently facing fraud charges. A private prosecutor has alleged that the pair’s claims are a form of “false representation” that could expose individuals to financial risk. Both pleaded not guilty, and a trial is scheduled for November 3, 2025.
The event adds to a growing list of failed claims to Bitcoin’s creation. Recently, Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who had long claimed to be Nakamoto, lost a High Court case in England and later admitted he was not Bitcoin’s creator. Earlier this month, a documentary mistakenly pointed to Canadian Bitcoin developer Peter Todd, which he promptly denied.
If you want to read more news articles like this, visit DeFi Planet and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and CoinMarketCap Community.
“Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”
