Ever since the unveiling of Bitcoin on Halloween 2008, the true inventor behind the revolutionary digital currency has been shrouded in mystery.

Its creator adopted the mysterious pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, but no individual, now undoubtedly one of the world's richest people, has so far been decisively identified.

But after an extensive investigation involving artificial intelligence and forensic linguistics experts, the New York Times has claimed to uncover the anonymous architect of Bitcoin, who has hidden his identity for more than 17 years.

That man is Adam Back, a 55-year-old British computer scientist, who the newspaper says pioneered the decentralised digital currency, used for encrypted, peer-to-peer transactions without needing a central bank.

If true, the University of Exeter–educated cryptographer has generated a vast fortune: as per Bitcoin lore, Satoshi 'mined' 1.1 million coins in the digital currency's nascency, a cache that is worth $70 billion today. 

Mining is the process of creating new Bitcoins by solving complicated mathematical problems that verify transactions in the currency.

On Wednesday, Back decisively told his X followers, 'I'm not Satoshi' before adding in a follow-up tweet: 'I also don't know who Satoshi is, and I think it is good for Bitcoin that this is the case, as it helps Bitcoin be viewed a new asset class, the mathematically scarce digital commodity.'

Nevertheless, the New York Times's conclusion was drawn from over a year of trawling through thousands of decades-old internet postings, revealing a trail of opaque clues that weaved together to point towards Back.

Over the years, the encryption expert used extraordinary methods to conceal his identity - allegedly even sending emails in his own name to the mysterious Satoshi, playing both roles at once in a Mr Ripley-esque charade to cover his tracks. 

But try as he might to conceal his identity, a series of extensive linguistic analyses has uncovered persuasive similarities between Back and Satoshi's writing styles, leading to the conclusion that they are, and always have been, the same man. 

When confronted originally by the New York Times, Back resolutely denied that he was in fact Satoshi, telling the outlet in a sharp and defensive tone: 'Ultimately, it doesn't prove anything. And I will reassure you, it's really not me.'

But his body language revealed something else, from his blushing cheeks to his shifting uncomfortably in his seat when bombarded with a cascade of questions.

This is not the first time Back has been linked to the shadowy Satoshi. The makers of a 2024 HBO documentary, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, cornered him as he sat on a park bench in Riga, Latvia, his shirt untucked under a brown coat.