While the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s creator remains a mystery, the number of candidates who could fit into the big shoes have increased. And this time around, it is Paul Calder Le Roux, a 46-year-old Rhodesian programmer who owns 1 million Bitcoins that have never been moved, according to Bitcoin.com’s report on May 13, 2019.
Satoshi’s Hidden Identity Despite Community’s Ultimate Search
For the uninitiated, Satoshi Nakamoto has been in hiding for the past 8 years and has not resurfaced since then. However, the cryptocurrency community has been kept on their toes trying to ascertain who created Bitcoin and its driver, blockchain technology, the next big thing after the internet.
To satisfy people’s curiosity, Craig Wright, an Australian programmer emerged claiming that he is Satoshi. His claims have been met with a lot of doubt and sentiment due to the unprovable facts that have been presented by him. Another personality that has been caught in the mix is, Paul Calder Le Roux.
Le Roux, the James Bond of Our Time
Le Roux is a criminal mastermind who has been jailed since 2012 and is currently in U.S. custody. He is believed to be the James bond of our time since he has soiled his hands is in arms trafficking, gold smuggling, drug shipments, money laundering, and programming. A book titled “The mastermind” describes him as “a brilliant programmer and a vicious cartel boss, who became a prized U.S. government asset.”
Wikipedia, on the other hand, describes him as:
“A former programmer, former criminal cartel boss, and informant to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).”
In the case of programming, Le Roux’s life closely mirrors that of Satoshi Nakamoto because he was also interested in cryptography. First, the former cartel boss was enthusiastic about giving privacy to people and in his opinion, “encryption is the only way to preserve civil liberties”. As such, he developed E4M (Encryption for the Masses), an open-source Windows disk encryption software in 1999. He is also suspected to have created TrueCrypt which is based on E4M’s code.
Le Roux Owns I Million Bitcoins Stored in Encrypted Hard Drives
Le Roux reportedly has 1 million Bitcoins which are stored in encrypted hard drives that are now allegedly in Craig Wright’s custody. It is said that Craig Wright has been trying to crack the hard drives in order to get a hold of the billions worth of Bitcoin and give people the impression that he is the real Satoshi.
Le Roux, on the other hand, in one of his numerous passports from 2008/2011 went by the name “Solotshi” which is almost similar to “Satoshi.” The minor disparity between both names has kindled another interest in the personality.
More Similarities Between Le Roux and Satoshi
Asides from Le Roux’s and Satoshi’s passion for cryptography and privacy, the duo’s spelling and language are similar. Le Roux consistently used words like “defence, analyse, bloody, colour, hard.” Also, 1 million Bitcoins have been successfully hidden for almost a decade and that would’ve taken someone who created the disk encryption software TrueCrypt.
Another intriguing thing is their interest in online gambling because a poker client was also included in Bitcoin’s initial code. There’s also the coincidence that Satoshi went into hiding in early 2011 in order to “move on to other things” which is almost the same time Le Roux went from being a programmer to a cartel boss.
Disparity Between Le Roux and Satoshi
However, there are still disparities between both personalities. An instance is the case of 2009 when Satoshi was refining Bitcoin whereas Le Roux was more interested in gun running and drug smuggling. Thus, the demanding nature of both jobs could mean throwing the possibility of a double-life out the window.
Nonetheless, if Le Roux was actually involved in Bitcoin’s creation or is Satoshi Nakamoto, it means that two people (the other being Ross Ulbricht) who may have significantly contributed to the birth of the most popular cryptocurrency are now in the custody of the U.S. Authorities and may possibly spend a lifetime there.
