James Murphy, a prominent crypto attorney widely recognized as MetaLawMan, has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The April 7 legal action aims to uncover what the government may know about the identity of Bitcoin’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
DHS claimed to have interviewed Bitcoin creator
Murphy said the lawsuit was prompted by statements made during a financial intelligence conference in 2019.
At that event, a DHS official reportedly claimed the agency had discovered Nakamoto’s identity and interviewed him face-to-face in California. Three other individuals were present during that meeting, each of whom played a role in the development of Bitcoin.
The crypto attorney now wants access to internal DHS documents, emails, and notes that could confirm whether such an interview ever took place. He argued that if the encounter were real, it would almost certainly have left behind a paper trail. His legal action aims to bring those records to the public’s attention.
Meanwhile, Murphy called on DHS Secretary Christy Noem to release the information voluntarily. However, if the DHS declines to release the files, the crypto attorney says he’s prepared to continue the case until the truth comes out.
Who is Satoshi?
This legal action is the latest twist in the decade-long search for Satoshi Nakamoto, whose mystery has sparked countless theories, debates, and investigations.
In recent times, the theories around Satoshi’s identity have ranged from plausible to outlandish.
Last year, HBO released a documentary titled The Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, which suggested that Canadian developer Peter Todd might be the man behind the pseudonym. Todd publicly denied the claim, calling it baseless and misleading.
In another theory, Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, pointed to Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey as the possible founder. Sigel cited technical similarities, timeline coincidences, and circumstantial evidence compiled by entrepreneur Sean Murray.
While the theory isn’t conclusive, Sigel claims the patterns are too compelling to ignore.
Still, many in the crypto community view Bitcoin’s lack of a central figure as a core strength. They believe BTC’s founder should remain anonymous to preserve the network’s decentralized nature.
However, others argued that unmasking Satoshi could bring valuable insights and possibly risks to Bitcoin’s future.
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