Is Satoshi Nakamoto the "2010 Whale"? Has he been selling BTC?

Researchers have come up with a new theory about Satoshi Nakamoto — that the Bitcoin creator never went dormant and has been strategically cashing out from early Bitcoin wallets ever since.

In a Nov. 19 article, Bitcoin research firm BTCparser said a batch of Bitcoin wallet addresses were created in 2010, each holding 50 Bitcoins, which were not moved until the first “awakening” in November 2019, which they dubbed the “2010 Whale.”

BTCparser’s theory suggests that Satoshi owns these wallets and has been slowly selling the Bitcoins in them, while deliberately leaving the 2009 wallet aside to avoid attention.

“This makes me suspect that the mysterious whale from 2010 may actually be Satoshi, ” BTCparser said in a Nov. 19 post. However, BTCparser added that this is still a “theory, not a conclusion.”

Source: Vladimir S

BTCparser said that if Satoshi Nakamoto was behind the wallets in 2010, then "this paints a picture of a creator who orchestrated a careful plan to ensure their privacy."

“If Satoshi has access to a trove of bitcoins minted in 2010, there is no need to touch the original 2009 wallet. Using these later bitcoins avoids drawing attention to the original stash, thus maintaining anonymity and reducing the risk of revealing Satoshi’s identity.”

How funds are cleared

The funds are pooled into a P2SH address, often used as an escrow, and then sent to multiple bech32 addresses — a type of address that offers low transaction fees and efficient use of block space.

The addresses sold $5 million worth of Bitcoin for the first time in November 2019, with the second and third transactions of $6 million to $8 million and $11 million to $13 million in March and October 2020, respectively.

The fourth sale was a $176 million liquidation that took place 10 days ago on November 15.

“The growing volume coincides with Bitcoin’s rising value, suggesting this whale has been strategically cashing out.”

BTCparser suggests that unless the whale is operating through an intermediary, Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange where these Bitcoins are stored, may have better knowledge of the individuals or entities behind these transactions.

In October, a controversial HBO documentary claimed that Bitcoin cypherpunk Peter Todd invented Bitcoin.

Todd disputed that conclusion, and most industry experts said HBO's evidence was weak.

The names of Nick Szabo, Adam Back, and Hal Finney have all been linked to the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Szabo and Back have frequently disputed claims that they are Satoshi, as did Finney before his death in 2013.