A press conference held today, October 31, at London’s Frontline Club aimed to reveal the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. Stephen Mollah, a British businessman currently embroiled in a legal dispute over the same claim, came forward as the man behind the pseudonym.
Is Stephen Mollah the inventor of Bitcoin?
On October 30, a press edition titled “Satoshi Nakamoto to Reveal Legal Identity on October 31, 2024” was widely distributed. The release announced a live press conference scheduled for 11:30 am (London time) at the Frontline Club in Paddington, London. It stated:
“After more than a decade of speculation and mystery, the world will finally learn the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the elusive inventor of Bitcoin and the fundamental blockchain technology. On this momentous occasion, Nakamoto will reveal his legal identity during a live press conference, marking a historic event in the cryptocurrency landscape.”
The alleged Satoshi Nakamoto was quoted as saying: “The time has come for me to officially reveal my identity. I face major legal challenges and I believe the world deserves the truth.”
Joe Tidy, BBC News correspondent, attended the event and provided live updates via A strange setup for the press conference as the organizer asked me to pay £500 to attend and appear on stage to ask questions of the mysterious billionaire.
Charles Anderson, the event’s organizer, took the stage first, claiming he had only had two hours of sleep in 48 hours due to the overwhelming response to the announcement. Anderson made bold claims about his own achievements, declaring that he invented “energy recovery systems” in cars and the television show “Britain’s Got Talent.”
Proceedings took a turn when a Frontline Club representative interrupted to clarify that the event was not affiliated with or sanctioned by the club. This intervention led to at least one reporter walking out.
Amid technical issues – most notably the inability to get their laptop working – Stephen Mollah appeared on stage. He stated that himself Satoshi Nakamoto and promised to provide evidence to support his claim. Neatly reported:
“’Satoshi’ and his organizer can’t get their laptop to work, so they’re doing the event offline for the time being. Mr Mollah explains his background and says he is an economic and monetary scientist. He says he previously tried to express himself as Satoshi in 2016, but “someone stopped him” and then continued talking to the BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones, who interviewed him but did not publish a story.
Mollah’s claim is not without precedent. According to a message from October 10 report According to the London Evening Standard, Mollah, 58, and Anderson, 67, are currently suspects in a private fraud prosecution. They are accused of falsely representing Mollah as Satoshi Nakamoto and claiming he owned 165,000 Bitcoin in Singapore – an amount worth billions of dollars.
The indictment specifies that the men “dishonestly” claimed Mollah’s identity and ownership of significant Bitcoin holdings with the intent to cause loss or expose the alleged victim, Dalmit Dohil, to a risk of loss. Both Mollah and Anderson pleaded not guilty to a single charge of fraud by false representation at Inner London Crown Court. They were released on unconditional bail, with a trial date of November 3, 2025.
Community responses
The Bitcoin community reacted quickly and skeptically to the event. Many labeled Mollah as yet another “Faketoshi,” a term used to describe individuals who falsely claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto. Online forums and social media platforms were abuzz with criticism and disbelief.
One user commented: “Spoiler alert for the latest Faketoshi: Charles Anderson is the ‘journalist’ who ‘unmasks’ Stephen Mollah as the ‘real’ Satoshi. Charles Anderson is a liar and Stephen Mollah is a fraudster. There should be zero tolerance for these types of pests in a polite society.” Another one added: “Definitely one of the more crazy people claiming to be Satoshi lol.”
At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $71,880.
Featured image by X @joetidy, chart from TradingView.com