Bitcoin's Beginning

In 2008, Nakamoto published a nine-page white paper containing the first-ever mention of bitcoin, calling it a "peer-to-peer electronic cash system."

A few months later, Nakamoto released bitcoin's first software and partnered with developers and coders online to improve it.

This collaborative environment continued until 2011 when, without warning, Nakamoto vanished.

Before ceasing all online communication, they emailed a fellow bitcoin developer saying they had "moved on to other things."

But here's the catch: Nakamoto didn't walk away empty-handed.

Sergio Demian Lerner, an Argentine researcher, has estimated that Nakamoto accumulated around a million bitcoins before disappearing.

Today, that stash is worth over $5 billion.

So, Who is Nakamoto?

For now, it doesn't seem like the real Satoshi Nakamoto is interested in coming forward.

Anonymity provides privacy, protection and peace—three things that likely appeal to the owner of one million bitcoins.

But is that really such a bad thing?

With the havoc it could wreak on the price of bitcoin and internal politics, it may be better off that Nakamoto—whoever that is—remain anonymous and inactive indefinitely.

Of course, that won't stop people from wondering.

"Every single one of us, every technical person is curious about Satoshi. We want to know where this person came from and where bitcoin came from, because it's kind of a miracle, this system," said Green.

"But beyond that, we'd like to know what the future of bitcoin is. We'd like to know what is going to happen to all of those coins that Satoshi mined. If they're gone forever, that means one thing, if they're coming back, that means another thing. There's probably some interest in having a person with this kind of skill back, part of the community, and contributing to it."