Fact Checked by 
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) told investigative journalist Dave Troy that Satoshi Nakamoto, reputedly the creator of Bitcoin (BTC), was a “third party individual” for whom it could have records or not.
In an Aug. 13 X thread, Troy reported that the FBI answered his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request about Nakamoto. In the document he shared, the agency explained:
Please be advised the FBI will neither confirm nor deny the existence of such records pursuant to FOIA exemptions. […] The mere acknowledgment of the existence of FBI records on third party individuals could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the person or persons who jumpstarted Bitcoin development and wrote its white paper in 2008. This entity was active in Bitcoin development until late 2010, when WikiLeaks was banned from the global banking system and started accepting Bitcoin for donations. As Nakamoto wrote that year in a post on BitcoinTalk:
“It would have been nice to get this attention in any other context. WikiLeaks has kicked the hornet’s nest, and the swarm is headed towards us.”
An appeal incoming
Still, Troy claimed that the FBI usually answers this way to requests for data concerning non-US people. He also announced that he would be appealing the response.
He also highlighted that the he filed the FOIA request thorugh the “all other subjects” pathway and not the “deceased individuals” form. Consequently, it was the FBI itself that asserted that Nakamoto is an individual — while some are convinced he is a group of people. He further explained that the intent of this request is not to find the identity of Bitcoin’s creator:
“My intent is not to establish the identity behind the pseudonym, but rather to get what info the bureau may have on the subject. If that helps establish identity somehow, fine, but that’s not my primary question.”
Troy noted that he had already submitted a detailed request for clarification to the FBI, and will publicly report on the response.
Featured image via Ideogram
