Does Kraken know Satoshi’s identity? Coinbase exec’s research hints at possibility

Just a few months after HBO floated Peter Todd’s name as Satoshi, Coinbase’s Conor Grogan has dropped new findings suggesting a possible link between Bitcoin’s creator and the leading crypto exchange Kraken.

Grogan’s analysis examines a set of addresses exhibiting the “Patoshi Mining Pattern,” recently cataloged by Arkham Intelligence. He suggests strong, though not definitive, evidence of a link to Satoshi.

I went through Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallets; thread of new findings that I don’t think have been previously reported including:

-My best guess is that Satoshi was last active onchain in 2014
-He may have used a Canadian BTC exchange (!)
-Kraken may know the identity of Satoshi pic.twitter.com/ajD2A73fm8

— Conor (@jconorgrogan) February 5, 2025

For context, “Patoshi Mining Pattern” refers to a unique and identifiable pattern in the early Bitcoin blockchain data that is believed to be associated with Satoshi. Satoshi was likely one of the primary miners, if not the sole, during this period. The pattern was first discovered and analyzed by security researcher Sergio Demian Lerner.

Analyzing the mining pattern addresses, Grogan estimates that Satoshi controls approximately 1.096 million BTC, a sum worth over $108 billion. This would place Satoshi’s wealth, on paper, far beyond that of figures like Bill Gates.

Grogan found that these addresses sent out 24 Bitcoin transactions, with the most common destination being an address labeled “1PYYj.” The 1PYYj address also received Bitcoin from CaVirtEx, a Canadian exchange acquired by Kraken in early 2016.

Grogan speculates that Kraken’s co-founder Jesse Powell might have access to information about Satoshi’s identity through CaVirtEx’s know-your-customer (KYC) records.

“My advice to him would be to delete the data,” he wrote.

Kraken’s X account responded to Grogan’s research with the comment, “We are all Satoshi,” though Powell has yet to issue a statement.

The 1PYYj address is linked to an address starting with “12ib”, one of Bitcoin’s largest active addresses currently holding $3 billion in BTC, according to Grogan.

“This lends credence to the link that 1PY was associated with Satoshi or a very early adopter/contributor,” said Grogan.

Controversial findings

Grogan’s analysis was met with skepticism. Many crypto community members pointed out that it’s unlikely Kraken would have any records linked to Satoshi. In the early days of crypto exchanges, KYC regulations were far less stringent than they are today.

“It’s unlikely that Kraken would know who is behind the wallets. Plus, you don’t need KYC to send to a wallet parked on an exchange,” an X user suggested.

Some noted that Bitcoin transactions could pass through multiple hands. Someone could have received Bitcoin from CaVirtEx and then sent it to the suspected Satoshi-controlled wallets.

“Why would [Satoshi] send BTC from a CEX to his on-chain addresses? Could it not have been a random person?” one user questioned.

Responding to a request not to publish research on Satoshi’s identity as it may harm the industry, Grogan said he indeed saw it as positive news.

“This research gives me MORE confidence that these coins aren’t moving and Satoshi is no longer active,” he asserted. “No movement in any connected wallets through 2014 is very bullish!”

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