Former Mt. Gox CEO Says Crypto Community Should Protect Satoshi's Secret

Many experts are busy debunking the theory that cypherpunk veteran Adam Back is the elusive inventor in light of the bombshell investigation by the New York Times.

Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès, meanwhile, has opined that the community has a collective obligation to protect Satoshi's anonymity.

The "perfect entity"

Karpelès has opined that it is the duty of the cryptocurrency community to make sure that the real identity of Satoshi remains hidden.

"Anyone who cares about Satoshi should act this way and confuse anyone who may try to pinpoint Satoshi's real identity. Dare I say this is the duty of everyone involved in crypto. Satoshi chose to stay hidden, you must help him," he said in a recent social media post.

Karpelès believes that the stability of the entire asset class depends on that secret. "A mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto is the perfect entity," he explained. "Knowing who is behind the mask would make it imperfect and likely affect [the] value of crypto worldwide. One more reason for everyone involved to protect the secret."

The Adam Back theory

After the publication of the piece by the journalist who famously exposed the Theranos fraud case, industry veterans argue that the 18-month probe by journalist John Carreyrou lacks a definitive "smoking gun."

Colorado Governor Jared Polis has pointed out that Back is currently "hustling and scrapping together funds from VCs for his company" while Satoshi's wallets hold roughly $70 billion. This paradox has even led Ripple CTO David Schwartz to conclude that Satoshi's cryptographic keys are likely lost forever.

Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal has noted that Back's current role at Blockstream misaligns with what one would expect from the creator of the flagship coin. "Would Satoshi have founded a Bitcoin treasury company? It seems really, really hard to imagine," Weisenthal wrote. He playfully argued that if someone actually was Satoshi and wanted a flawless cover story, founding a highly visible, corporate Bitcoin treasury company would be the ideal way to throw investigators off the scent.

Whether Back is pulling off the ultimate bluff or is simply a cypherpunk pioneer caught in the crosshairs, Karpelès' message is clear: the myth of Satoshi Nakamoto is far more valuable to the cryptocurrency ecosystem than the man behind the pseudonym.