Did Satoshi Nakamoto Just Move 50 Bitcoin?

BTC from the earliest days of the network moved today. Could Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto be behind the transaction?

Was Satoshi Behind a Recent Bitcoin Transaction?

A 50 BTC transaction representing a block reward from a month after the Bitcoin network launched moved today.

50 Bitcoin that hadn’t been touched since being rewarded for mining block 3654 in 2009 moved today. 👀https://t.co/5DFN5AO9Lr

— eric.eth (@econoar) May 20, 2020

The coins were awarded for mining block 3,654. Several pundits have naturally associated that early mining activity with pseudonymous Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto.

Others Are Unconvinced

The Block’s head of research, Larry Cermak, believes the transaction is unrelated to Satoshi Nakamoto, identifying that there were several early miners on the Bitcoin network.

This does not look like Satoshi based on their usual nonce identifier. But cool regardless and likely a whale anyway https://t.co/vMNFg2Ubwc

— Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) May 20, 2020

Blocks believed to have been mined by Satoshi have a particular pattern in their nonces, a cryptographic number that can help identify blocks. According to that pattern, these Bitcoin do not appear to have originated from Satoshi.

Another analyst noted that the transaction marks the first time that early 2009-origin Bitcoin has moved since August of 2017.

It’s the first time since August 2017 than someone spent coins from early 2009. pic.twitter.com/l9Zc3xpZr2

— Antoine Le Calvez (@khannib) May 20, 2020

The linking of mining transactions to real people is an inexact science despite the intrigue surrounding the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. Absolute proof is near-impossible to establish.

Nevertheless, on-chain sleuths will closely watch the path of the coins as the transaction was undoubtedly from an early Bitcoin miner and large holder. If these 50 BTC continue to move, then a lot more about this story will be revealed.