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- Stephen Mollah claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto at a London event but failed to provide convincing evidence.
- Technical issues and unsubstantiated statements frustrated attendees, including BBC’s Joe Tidy.
On October 31, British businessman Stephen Mollah stepped forward, claiming to be the elusive creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, at a press conference held at London’s Frontline Club. This comes after the release of a press release on October 30 that suggested that Nakamoto would be unmasked. This event was hyped up as the biggest moment in history that would unveil the real inventor of Bitcoin and the technology that is the blockchain.
However, the press conference that was attended by BBC News correspondent Joe Tidy was rather disorderly. Tidy revealed additional expenses, for instance, £500 for asking questions, which cast doubt as to the nature of the meeting.
The session was kicked off by the event organizer, Charles Anderson, who made some unusual statements about his accomplishments, including “energy recovery systems” in cars and the show “Britain’s Got Talent.” Adding to the confusion, a representative from the Frontline Club came into the conversation and stated that the event was not being held at the Frontline Club, causing at least one journalist to leave the event.
When it was Mollah;s turn to produce evidence, the session was marred by technical hitches, the organizers’ laptop failing to work. Mollah, who described himself as an ‘economic and monetary scientist’, said that he had once tried to unmask himself in 2016. But he says that these attempts were hindered by external factors such as an interrupted interview with BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones.
Legal Troubles Surface Behind the Announcement
Mollah’s claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto have raised eyebrows especially because of the legal problems he has. On 10 October this year, the London Evening Standard stated that Mollah, 58 years old and Anderson, 67 years old was accused of fraud. The prosecutors accused the two of impersonating Mollah as Nakamoto and stated that he had 165,000 Bitcoins from Singapore. Both have denied the charges and are expected to stand trial in November 2025 at the Inner London Crown Court.
The reaction from the cryptocurrency community to Mollah’s claim has been one of skepticism. Phrases such as “Faketoshi”, which refer to people who pretend to be Nakamoto without substantiation, came back into the conversation. The event was a subject of criticism on the social media platform, and many people doubted the credibility of Mollah’s comment.
Another user on an online forum criticized Anderson as a “journalist” for being at the event with the organizer and Mollah being a “fraud.” One more commentator called Mollah’s statement as another example of a person who wants to be linked to Nakamoto’s idea.
This is not the first time someone has come out claiming to be the infamous creator of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, only to face backlash when unable to provide verifiable evidence.
In the Bitcoin community, proof of the Bitcoin creator usually comprises cryptographic signatures or movement of Bitcoin from the known Satoshi addresses. Mollah’s use of screenshots and empty promises did not meet these standards and could only be seen as yet another case of an attempt at seeking attention.
