Satoshi Nakamoto is an icon of the cryptocurrency world, the founder of a new decentralized system. However, despite his efforts, Satoshi’s work was not based on enthusiasm. According to some reports, tens of billions of dollars in bitcoins are in the account, but the secret of owning a multimillion-dollar fortune remains unsolved.
Vladimir Okhotnikov, cryptanalyst, publicist, talks about mysterious transactions related to Nakamoto’s wallet. Who periodically sends coins to Satoshi’s address and why? It also reveals the connection between Ripple and the theft of 850,000 BTC. Don’t miss the opportunity to be the first to know the answers to these questions.
Someone transferred bitcoins to Satoshi Nakamoto – Vladimir Okhotnikov
“One mysterious transaction took place on January 5th. An unknown person sent $1.2 million to Satoshi Nakamoto’s account. The transfer arrived a few days after the crypto community celebrated the 15th anniversary of the first transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain in early January,” states Vladimir Okhotnikov.
The genesis wallet “1A1z,” which was used to mine the first Bitcoin block in 2009, has 99.69 coins in its account the total value of which is approximately $4.8 million.
The wallet belongs to the same Satoshi Nakamoto – blockchain.com
The large movement of funds did not go unnoticed. The director of Coinbase, Conor Grogan, expressed his assumptions on the social network X (ex-Twitter). He called this event either a strategic marketing move in anticipation of the launch of a Bitcoin ETF, or an attempt to reveal the identity of the creator of Bitcoin in light of the growing SEC pressure on the cryptocurrency.
Let us remind you that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet qualified Bitcoin in any way. However, all transactions with this cryptocurrency are subject to close regulatory attention.
While the Commission did approve Bitcoin spot trading on ETPs on January 11, it remains unsupportive of Bitcoin and urges investors to remain cautious in their investment decisions.
Vladimir Okhotnikov believes that the lack of grounds to consider Bitcoin a security is a matter of time, “The fact that BTC is not regulated in the same way as traditional assets does not give rest to the SEC. The commission continues to look for a reason, but cannot find a legal basis.”
Ripple may be involved in Mt.Gox scams
In mid-April 2023, the Bitcoin wallet, which had been “sleeping” since December 19, 2013, came to life. About $60 million were transferred to an unknown address.
Such a large transfer in the blockchain is also associated with two wallets that previously sent 10,000 bitcoins. Both addresses are associated with the Mt. crypto exchange. Gox, which is now not working, but was caught in the loss of user funds.
- Gox, one of the first and largest crypto exchanges, faced serious problems in 2014. In February of the same year, the exchange announced the loss of 850,000 bitcoins (that is, about 7% of all bitcoins in circulation at that time), linking the incident to an exploit. This led to the exchange suspending trading and filing for bankruptcy.
A well-known YouTube blogger under the nickname CryptoWendyO expressed her opinion regarding the allegations against Ripple Labs, Mt. Gox and Shiba Inu in their video. At the same time, TruthLabs makes a disclosure linking these three companies and claiming that the cryptocurrency exchange’s bitcoins were laundered through these projects.
Later, facts appear that indirectly point to the former technical director of Ripple Labs, Jed McCaleb, who was previously the founder of Mt. Gox. Moreover, TruthLabs claims that the connection between Ripple and Japan, where the Mt. Gox exchange was located, confirms suspicions.
According to some reports, 850,000 BTC stolen from Mt. Gox were allegedly laundered through various projects, including on the Ethereum network. A user with the nickname ZachXBT on platform X (formerly Twitter) began his own investigation, during which he analyzed the routes of stolen funds movement. As a result, we discovered that some of the stolen coins ended up in Vitalik Buterin’s blockchain.
Later, CryptoWendyO refuted the speculation, emphasizing the lack of clear evidence that Jed McCaleb is somehow connected with the intricate story.
At the same time, the mysterious Taisiya conducted her investigation. After examining the available transaction chain, she identified two groups of wallets. Previously they were connected and led to the same address “1McU”. “In my opinion and that of several reputable analysts, the trail leads to Jed McCaleb, former owner of Mt. Gox and the technical director of Ripple,” Taisiya added.
Indeed, Cryptopolitan claims that, based on information available to them, there is evidence that the funds are associated with the address “1McUC” and with the events that occurred at Mt. Gox.
In conclusion
Anonymous donations are still being received at various addresses allegedly belonging to Satoshi. However, one of the wallets is the very first and most famous of them. The largest number of coins was transferred to it.
Fate played an ironic joke, and the initial block did not make it into the blockchain. The tokens stored in this wallet are virtually impossible to spend. All those who have sent bitcoins to Satoshi over the years have essentially placed the coins in eternal storage.
Moreover, it is difficult to reliably know who owns certain addresses. Arkham conducted an assessment and concluded that wallets associated with the creator of Bitcoin could contain between 750 thousand and 1.1 million coins. This makes him the largest individual cryptocurrency holder.
Other identified serious owners include the investment company Grayscale, the Binance exchange, and the broker Robinhood.
Cryptocurrency specialist Vladimir Okhotnikov is skeptical about Arkham’s activities, saying that the company artificially creates news feeds for the purpose of self-promotion. In his opinion, it is almost impossible to verify the accuracy of the published information, and Arkham’s assumptions are based on data leaks from employees. Vladimir emphasizes that it is possible to determine the ownership of wallets only on the basis of speculation, since the main advantage of the blockchain is its anonymity.
“The assets of companies are reflected in the financial statements, but details about where exactly these funds are stored remain a commercial secret,” concluded Vladimir Okhotnikov. According to the expert, the balance between anonymity and openness in cryptocurrency has not yet been achieved. This makes it possible for anyone to calculate such addresses, but it is not reliable.
Parkash Singh is a PGT Teacher in Kendriya Vidyalaya Rohini, New Delhi. Parkash completed his starting education from Bihar Board and graduated from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University. He regularly writes educational and informative articles at IndiasStuffs.com
