Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Is Now Richer Than Bill Gates—And Closing In on Buffett

Pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto is now the 11th richest person in the world, as the inventor’s BTC portfolio—based on wallets tied to the long-silent crypto icon—has risen above $130 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence. It comes as the leading cryptocurrency has hit a spree of new all-time highs, rising by 14% over the past month.

That puts the elusive figure’s net worth above that of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is worth $117 billion, and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, whose net worth is $126.5 billion, according to Forbes. Bitcoin’s monthly move saw Satoshi surpass the two tech founders.

Satoshi’s net worth is now closing in on that of iconic CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett—a noted Bitcoin critic. At a net worth of $141 billion, Bitcoin would need to rise just over 8% from its current price of $118,912 to $128,650 for Satoshi to surpass Buffett.

Buffet once compared Bitcoin to “rat poison,” and said that he wouldn’t purchase every single Bitcoin for $25 in 2022—BTC has climbed 204% since then. Its creator is now $12 billion away from surpassing his net worth.

Forbes tracks the net worth of these billionaires by observing the individuals’ public holdings, and estimates the value of private holdings according to “an industry- or region-specific market index.”

A popular way of identifying how much BTC Satoshi owns is via the Patoshi Pattern, which describes a pattern of mining found in early Bitcoin blocks. A single miner mined the first 22,000 blocks using the distinctive behavior, and many believe this miner was actually Satoshi. 

Therefore, it is widely believed that Satoshi mined 1.1 million BTC, strikingly similar to Arkham Intelligence’s estimate of 1.096 million Bitcoin. That said, it’s entirely possible that Satoshi may own more or less Bitcoin.

Can Satoshi sell?

The exact identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is unknown, despite many attempts over the years to unmask the cryptocurrency creator. 

An HBO documentary last fall claimed that Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd was crypto’s elusive inventor, but this theory was swatted away by viewers and Todd himself. Other early Bitcoiners like Adam Back and the late Hal Finney have been pegged as Satoshi, though both have denied the claims.

Others believe that Tesla CEO Elon Musk could’ve created Bitcoin, that a group rather than an individual is behind the technology, or that it was secretly government-created. Ultimately, no definitive answer has ever been reached.

“I think Satoshi was one person in terms of the number of entities that controlled his accounts, like the Bitcoin Talk Forum,” Econoalchemist, a pseudonymous Bitcoin miner, told Decrypt. “But I do believe Satoshi was well-connected among cryptographers, researchers, and cypherpunks, and he leveraged those relationships to build Bitcoin.”

Wallets believed to be owned by Satoshi have never moved any Bitcoin, per Arkham, which has led many to believe that they may not even be alive anymore. After all, why wouldn’t you cash out at least a little bit, given Bitcoin’s immense gains?

But if the inventor isn’t dead, then there isn’t anything stopping him from selling.

“I do think Satoshi could still be alive, but I don’t think he would ever sell his coins,” Econoalchemist explained. “He built an alternative cash system, and I don’t believe he did that for the gains in the failed system Bitcoin was designed to replace.”

On Tuesday, a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal was submitted that seeks to change the blockchain’s software to protect against quantum computers cracking the code. Although the proposal would affect only 25% of all Bitcoin—including the BTC tied to Satoshi—its creators argue the unprecedented threat of quantum computing requires unprecedented action.

The proposal comes as experts are becoming more concerned that quantum computing could be used to crack the private keys to highly lucrative wallets within the next decade. If this were to happen, theoretically, not just Satoshi’s BTC but 25% of the total supply, as estimated by Deloitte, could be stolen and flood the market, resulting in a “liquidation event,” experts warned.