Satoshi Nakamoto –
Paul Le Roux
Paul Le Roux has been a longtime prospect for being the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.
With a life resembling a James Bond villain, Paul has developed and freely released advanced encryption software; supplied and protected armed militias in Somalia; run precious mineral and timber extraction operations across Africa; trafficked narcotics out of North Korea; plotted and then abandoned a coup in the Seychelles; bribed government officials all over the world; built missile guidance systems for Iran; laundered millions through Hong Kong using gold bars and diamonds; and had at least seven people murdered on his behalf.
More specifically, Paul Le Roux is widely believed to be a top candidate for the following reasons:
Criminal background and expertise
Le Roux was a skilled programmer and had a background in organized crime, including drug trafficking and money laundering. His expertise in coding and criminal activities could have been leveraged to create Bitcoin as a money laundering instrument, as suggested by Martin Shkreli.
Timeline Alignment
Le Roux’s criminal activities and arrests in 2012 align with Satoshi’s disappearance from the Bitcoin scene around 2010. If Le Roux were Satoshi, his criminal pursuits might have led him to abandon the project.
Signature type
Greg Maxwell, a renowned Bitcoin developer, has stated that the signature type used by Satoshi did not exist until after Hal Finney’s was out of commission. This could imply that someone supervised and controlled Satoshi’s private key, which might have been Le Roux.
Money laundering connection
The theory that Bitcoin was designed as a money laundering instrument for Le Roux’s criminal conglomerate is supported by some sources. This aligns with Le Roux’s criminal background and expertise.