June 4, 2018

by Sharon Moran

The mystery surrounding the creator of Bitcoin is something that probably will never be solved, and I don’t believe it’s important to know one way or another. Bitcoin’s creator chose to remain anonymous and left very little evidence of his identity. I say “he” because I do believe Bitcoin’s creator is also the creator of TurtleCoin, and the creator of TurtleCoin, Rocksteady, is definitely male. Even if I’m wrong about Satoshi Nakamoto and RockSteady being the same person, I don’t believe that Bitcoin was created by a group of multiple people working together as some people have speculated.

The creator of Bitcoin chose a pseudonymous name with Japanese origins. The creator of TurtleCoin has chosen a nickname, Rocksteady a character from the Japanese anime, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Japanese influence is not the only thing that stands out as notable to me.

In an interview with Brian from Cryptocurrency Virtual Summit, Rocksteady used an animated avatar in place of Rocksteady being live on screen. Rocksteady explained in regard to his anonymous façade, “It’s been this way since the very beginning.” Keep in mind, this interview occurred in March 2018 less than 3 months after the launch of TurtleCoin in December of 2017. I know a lot can change in the cryptocurrency markets in 3 months. The cryptosphere definitely has its’ own pace, but a 3-month time frame seems really short to speak about using phrases like “since the very beginning.” I think it reveals a disconnect between what Rocksteady knows to be true and what he’s trying to verbally describe in limited terms without revealing his true identity.

Rocksteady clearly demonstrates strong technical skills and has admitted to being an “early bitcoin miner.” My personal definition of “early bitcoin miner” is anyone who mined bitcoin in 2009. Perhaps, it’s even accurate to include part of 2010 in that definition as well, at least up to July 18, 2010 when Jed McCaleb launched Mt. Gox the first bitcoin exchange. Rocksteady did not specify dates of when he was mining, though.

Rocksteady mentioned he does not have a bank account, definitely a behavior you would expect from the person who created Bitcoin. In his communication with the TurtleCoin community on Discord, he clearly appears to be an individual who has been immersed in blockchain technology having extensive development experience.

There is also the (curious) occurrence that there never seems to be much of an overlap between when Rocksteady and Bebop are on the TurtleCoin Discord. In fact, when Rocksteady took a few days off from his mentor role on the project, it was reported the coin’s co-creator Bebop was noticeably absent too, bringing the whole alleged conversation that prompted the coin’s creation into question. Exactly the type of story a person who desired to remain anonymous would have to craft.

At this point, you might be wondering what my motive is for documenting my thoughts online for the entire cryptocurrency community to read. It’s clear Satoshi Nakamoto was clearly not motivated by the possibility of personal profit, and it’s unnerving to read comments from people who insist otherwise. Likewise, he also was not motivated by fame or notoriety. And Rocksteady fits this description perfectly.