Coinbase Director Hints Kraken May Hold Clues to Satoshi Nakamoto’s Identity

Coinbase director Conor Grogan has raised speculation that crypto exchange Kraken and its CEO might have insight into the true identity of Bitcoin’s (BTC) elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. 

His comments come after Arkham Intelligence added tracking for Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin holdings to their platform.

Kraken and Satoshi Nakamoto: A Hidden Connection?

According to the blockchain analytics firm, Satoshi’s known Bitcoin holdings total 1,096,354 tokens, valued at $107 billion at current prices. 

Furthermore, Satoshi has distributed his BTC trove across more than 22,000 wallet addresses. It includes the only known addresses from which Satoshi spent BTC. Notably, Arkham identified these addresses from the Patoshi Pattern.

For context, the Patoshi Pattern refers to a distinct mining pattern identified in the early Bitcoin blockchain and many believe it is linked to Bitcoin’s creator.

Coinbase’s director examined Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet activity and shared his findings in a thread on X (formerly Twitter). While he noted that these wallets cannot be definitively linked to Satoshi, the evidence strongly suggests they belong to Bitcoin’s creator.

“In total, this research points to Satoshi owning 1.096 million BTC, worth approximately $108 billion, making them wealthier on paper than Bill Gates,” Grogan wrote.

He suggested that Nakamoto last moved Bitcoin on-chain in 2014. Interestingly, Grogan’s analysis uncovered evidence pointing to Kraken having knowledge of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Grogan found 24 outbound transactions from Satoshi-linked addresses. The most notable destination was the wallet 1PYYj, which reportedly received BTC from Cavirtex, a now-defunct Canadian cryptocurrency exchange. 

“I believe this is the first documented onchain between a Satoshi linked wallet and a CEX,” he remarked.

This means that Satoshi may have interacted with a centralized exchange, potentially leaving a digital footprint. Historically, Nakamoto has remained highly cautious about privacy, making any link to a regulated entity notable.

In 2016, Kraken acquired Cavirtex. Therefore, Grogan speculated that Kraken’s CEO Jesse Powell might know Satoshi’s true identity. Nonetheless, this depended on whether they retained any Know Your Customer (KYC) records on this wallet.

“My advice to him would be to delete the data,” Grogan suggested.

That’s not all. The 1PYYj address appears to be linked to the funding of 12ib. This Bitcoin address is among the largest active ones, currently containing more than $3 billion in BTC.

This strengthens the theory that 1PYYj was either controlled by Satoshi or an early Bitcoin adopter and contributor.

Furthermore, Grogan pointed out the possibility that the 500 BTC sent to 1PYYj in 2010 may have been a payment to another party, potentially revealing a new documented Satoshi-era Bitcoin transaction. 

In response to Grogan’s claims, Kraken posted a cryptic tweet.

“We are all Satoshi,” the post read.

While this does not confirm Kraken’s knowledge of Nakamoto’s identity, it raises questions about whether the exchange possesses information that could unravel Bitcoin’s greatest mystery.

Previously, Craig Wright claimed to be Bitcoin’s creator. However, the court legally dismissed his claim. Meanwhile, HBO’s documentary explored the possibility that core Bitcoin developer Peter Todd is Nakamoto—a claim he firmly denies.

In October 2024, a London press conference featured Stephen Mollah, asserting he is Bitcoin’s creator.