Is Bitcoin inventor buried in Leuven? New HBO documentary singles out Leuven PhD student

Who is the creator of Bitcoin? It is one of the mysteries of this century. A lot of journalists and researchers have tried to find out, but for now we have to take satisfaction with a pseudonym: Satoshi Nakamoto.

Man, woman, group or individual? Even that, no one knows. Nakamoto clearly had the intension of remaining anonymous, which has only added to the enigma surrounding the crypto currency.

No, it wasn’t Craig Wright!

Back in 2016, a name did surface. That of Australian Craig Wright who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. But that claim met with much scepticism from the crypto community.

Despite his attempts to convince the world, evidence to back up his story was lacking. In the end, many dismissed his claim as a failed attempt to take credit for someone else's work. Earlier this year a British judge finally ruled that Wright was definitely not the creator of Bitcoin.

‘Money electric: the Bitcoin mystery’

But who was the real inventor? The HBO documentary ‘Money electric: the Bitcoin mystery’, which is released today, tries to provide the answer. Several names are mentioned.  One theory points to Leonard ‘Len’ Sassaman.

Sassaman was an American computer scientist specialising in privacy, who was a PhD student at KU Leuven. ‘Was’, because the man died in 2011 at the age of 31 and is buried in a cemetery in Heverlee (Leuven – Flemish Brabant). The dates are right to identify him as a possible inventor of Bitcoin.

‘Satoshi Nakamoto was very involved in discussions about the crypto currency at its inception,’ Bart Preneel, professor of computer security and cryptography at KU Leuven, explains. Preneel was Sassaman's supervisor when he was a PhD student. ‘In 2011, Nakamoto suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. That date more or less coincides with Sassaman's death.’

Still, Preneel has his doubts that Sassaman was the brains behind Bitcoin. ‘Researchers use certain methods and systems. Based on my experiences with Sassaman and my intuition, I don't think he is the originator.’

‘In addition, Sassaman was a member of the ‘cypherpunks’, a group of people working on cryptography and the early internet. They wanted to create a cyberworld with its own rules, in which the state would no longer play a role. Privacy was therefore of great importance to them. Bitcoin does offer privacy, but not that well. For example, if you buy drugs or other illegal items using Bitcoin, your identity can be traced.’

‘The Bitcoin creator wanted, or wants, to remain anonymous by hook and by crook. And I understand that. The creator owns 61 billion euros in Bitcoins. In that case,  you might not want your identity to be known to the general public,’ Preneel concludes.