It’s interesting that many people, when they hear the word “Satoshi,” immediately think of cryptocurrency, but very few know the full story. Who exactly is Satoshi Nakamoto? It remains one of the biggest mysteries in the world of cryptography. But let’s go step by step.

In Bitcoin, as in any currency, there are small units for convenience. If in rubles they’re kopecks, in dollars they’re cents, then in Bitcoin they’re satoshis. One such minimal unit equals 0.00000001 BTC. That means there are exactly 100 million satoshis in one Bitcoin. This fraction was named after the creator of the cryptocurrency—Satoshi Nakamoto.

At first, there was no point in breaking the currency down. I remember that in September 2009, 5050 bitcoins were worth only $5. But when by 2011 the price rose to a dollar, the community realized that smaller fractions were needed for easier trading. A user under the nickname ribuck repeatedly proposed introducing such a system, and in the end they were heard. That’s how satoshis came to be—a practical solution for everyday calculations.

Now, about the most mysterious question of all—who is Satoshi Nakamoto? Nobody knows for sure. Over the past twenty-plus years, there have been many claimants. In 2014, journalists mistakenly named as the creator a 64-year-old American of Japanese origin, Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto. He did work on defense projects and was a computer engineer, but he immediately denied any involvement.

Then attention shifted to Hal Finney, the cryptographer who received the first Bitcoin transaction in history. It seemed logical that it could be him, but Finney denied this theory until his death in 2014. Then the crypto community suspected Nick Szabo—researchers found similarities between his articles and Bitcoin’s white paper. But there was no evidence.

Craig Wright once claimed that he created Bitcoin, and even published an admission. However, when they were asked for proof, it turned out to be unconvincing. Some pointed to Dave Kleimann, a programmer and former military serviceman, but there still weren’t any solid facts.

In the end, Nakamoto’s identity remains a mystery. Maybe it was one person, maybe a group of developers. Maybe the creator is deliberately keeping hidden. But it’s precisely this mystery that makes Bitcoin’s story even more intriguing. Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? It’s a question the crypto community has been asking itself for more than 15 years, and there is no answer.

By the way, getting satoshis today is simple—you can buy them on a crypto exchange, at an exchange counter, or through P2P. In the past, you could mine them, but now it’s an expensive business. If you’re interested, you can always go to Gate and check the current price of these micro-units of Bitcoin.