Former Ripple CTO Drops Major Bombshell Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto

Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared over a decade ago, leaving behind a network worth trillions and a mystery the crypto community talks about.

Now, Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has added a new dimension to that debate, suggesting Satoshi may be four people.

Crypto commentator Digital Asset Investor (@digitalassetbuy) shared a clip from an X Space featuring Schwartz, in which the Ripple executive offered candid thoughts on Satoshi’s current situation. The conversation covered quantum computing threats, wallet access, and the possibility that Satoshi may not be a single person.

Satoshi Could Be Four People

Schwartz raised the idea that the Satoshi wallets have never moved because the person, or persons, behind them simply no longer exist. “It could be that Satoshi was four people and they did a three or four setup and three of them died,” he said. He stopped short of committing to any single theory but argued that if someone still had access to those coins, they would have signaled it by now.

His reasoning centers on a practical concern. If Bitcoin ever adopted a quantum-resistant upgrade that locked out early wallets, the true Satoshi would face enormous pressure to come forward immediately. Schwartz said he would not put himself in that position. The multi-signature theory carries real weight given the technical sophistication behind Bitcoin’s creation.

A threshold setup requiring multiple keyholders would also explain why the coins have sat untouched through bull markets and years of intense speculation.

The Question of Craig Wright

Schwartz also addressed Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist whom a UK court ruled definitively is not Satoshi Nakamoto. Wright spent years claiming authorship of the Bitcoin whitepaper before being found to have submitted forged documents as evidence.

Schwartz offered an unexpected read. He acknowledged it is “plausible that Craig Wright was connected with the creation of Bitcoin in some way” while suggesting Wright’s conduct could theoretically be deliberate misdirection.

Someone who genuinely wanted to avoid being identified as Satoshi, Schwartz reasoned, might manufacture an embarrassing and obviously fraudulent claim to discredit the suspicion.

Schwartz Himself Remains a Topic

Schwartz has long been the subject of Satoshi speculation himself, with community members pointing to his early cryptographic patents. For now, the wallets remain still. Satoshi’s identity remains unknown. Schwartz’s theory that the answer may involve four people, some of whom are no longer alive, adds a significant possibility to a question that may never be resolved.