Back Traces Bitcoin Origins to 1997 Cypherpunk Research

Blockstream's Adam Back has disputed renewed claims that developer Peter Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. Speaking this week, Back argued that the concept of Bitcoin dates back to a 1997 cypherpunks mailing list and that it was a discovery, not an invention. He pointed out that the proof-of-work math used in Bitcoin's mining process had circulated among researchers before the 2008 white paper.

Back rejected the idea that Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto, saying that the latter moved in research circles where such ideas had been discussed long before the white paper. He cited a 1997 mailing list thread and a 2001 exchange with Hal Finney as evidence of this.

The debate over Bitcoin's origins has been ongoing for years, with some attributing its creation to Nakamoto while others point to Hashcash, a system developed by Back in 1997. The protocol used in Bitcoin is said to sit in a narrow design space, making it difficult to tweak without breaking the entire system.

Back's comments come after a New York Times investigation named him as the most likely person behind the Satoshi pseudonym earlier this year. However, he denied the conclusion, attributing the overlaps in writing style to shared cypherpunk jargon and confirmation bias.