Satoshi Nakamoto: 2017 Meeting With SEC Raised Speculations About Regulators Knowing BTC Creator's Identity

A controversial tweet from a Fox Business journalist this week sparked speculations on crypto Twitter and birthed conspiracy theories surrounding the identity of the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

The sensational tweet was made by the Business journalist Eleanor Terrett who got a hold of a calendar or itinerary showing a supposed meeting between U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission head of the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology Valerie Szczepanik, venture capitalist Tim Draper and Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2017.

"It would appear that @SECGov and @TimDraper know who Satoshi Nakamoto is," the journalist's tweet read. Interestingly, that conference was not held secretly since after three days, Draper expressed his frustrations about the said meeting for wasting his time on a "fake" Satoshi.

"I just got targeted by a Satoshi fake. He was very convincing and wasted a lot of my time. It could have been much worse. Watch out," Draper said in a tweet.

Several days later, tech news website The Verge shared the highlights of that meeting in an article titled "How a self-proclaimed Satoshi sold investors and SEC officials on his coin scheme."

The report revealed that "emails also show extensive conversations with the SEC over approximately a week-long period as the two men tested the legal waters for their upcoming venture." The meeting took place "with at least three SEC officials. Draper flew to Washington, D.C. for the meeting, while 'Satoshi' appears to have called into a conference line."

The report also shared that other teleconference attendees included Draper's sons and lawyer. The meeting was for the possibility of launching an initial coin offering (ICO), with Nakamoto reportedly trying his best to convince Draper and other attendees that he was the creator of Bitcoin.

Draper did not proceed with the planned venture after "discovering" he was dealing with an impostor, although the report said that SEC officials took Nakamoto's claim seriously. Despite Terrett's follow-up tweet, clarifying that it was a "Fake Satoshi that targeted Draper," some Twitter users raised valid questions, which further sparked speculations.

One Twitter user asked, "how did this random fake get booked for this meeting," while another said, "claiming that Satoshi was fake would require to know the real person(s), or the criteria [on] how to figure it out, right? Or is there a manual out there which teaches how to identify real Satoshis in the wild?"

Even Terrett, in the follow-up tweet, found the meeting interesting, noting, "Still quite interesting that some random guy got as far as holding a meeting with SEC officials claiming to be the $BTC founder."