Is David Schwartz, Satoshi Nakamoto? Ripple CEO Fuels Debate With New Comment

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stirs speculations regarding David Schwartz being the real identity behind pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

During a recent podcast, Garlinghouse claimed that some of the developers who created the XRP Ledger (XRPL), the underlying blockchain of XRP, were also early engineers of the Bitcoin network.

According to Garlinghouse, these developers attempted to build a better digital asset to solve some of the problems inherent in Bitcoin, including scalability and high energy consumption. 

Crypto Enthusiasts React 

Garlinghouse’s remarks elicited speculations within the crypto community, with members suggesting that Ripple CTO David Schwartz could be the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. 

Top crypto enthusiasts, including the Good Morning Crypto podcast host Abdullah “Abs” Nassif, have also fueled this speculation. 

🚨 DID RIPPLE CEO CONFIRM — DAVID SCHWARTZ IS THE ORIGINAL SATOSHI ?! 🚨🤯 @JoelKatz

New Evidence Emerges In A Video From Ripple CEO @bgarlinghouse When He Confirmed Via Podcast…

“Some Of The Creators Of The $XRP Ledger, Actually Had Been Early Engineers That Worked On… pic.twitter.com/kRHs5EvBES

— Good Morning Crypto (@AbsGMCrypto) May 18, 2024

Why Crypto Enthusiasts Think Schwartz Is Nakamoto  

Furthermore, popular XRP community member wEeZiE (@NerdNationUnbox) referred to an earlier X post where they made a similar assertion in 2022. 

In the X post, wEeZiE asked whether Schwartz was one of the four Satoshi Nakamoto who created Bitcoin. The XRP enthusiast shared some events that prompted the query. 

According to wEeZiE, the development of XRP commenced in May 2011, less than a month after Nakamoto posted their last message. 

Additionally, wEeZiE stated that Nakamoto emailed Mike Hearn, revealing plans to move on to other things on April 23, 2011. wEeZiE attached a screenshot from a Forbes article indicating that Schwartz also revealed in early 2011 that he was looking for something new, which later led to the creation of XRP Ledger. It bears mentioning that the XRP Ledger was created by Schwartz, Arthur Britto, and Jed McCaleb. 

According to the article, Schwartz, concerned about the centralized control of money, acquired several Bitcoins during the early days of the asset. 

Is @JoelKatz one of the 4 Satoshi’s
*Satoshi posted his last message on 04/26/2011, days later in May 2011 work on #XRP began.
04/23/2011 Nakamoto messages Mike Hearn stating he’s “moved on to other things”
Forbes stated this 👇🏻 about David Schwartz in early 2011 pic.twitter.com/dLgZxr0duT

— wEeZiE {X}💭John Deaton 4 Senate (@NerdNationUnbox) October 25, 2022

Like Bitcoin creator, wEeZiE shared a short clip showing that Schwartz also used a pseudonym, “Joel Katz.” Furthermore, the XRP community member pointed out that Nakamoto shared a pre-released version of the Bitcoin code on November 16, 2009, which coincides with Schwartz’s birthday. 

Schwartz Says He’s Likely to Be Satoshi Nakamoto  

At press time, there is no confirmation about the real identity of the Bitcoin creator or whether Schwartz is the likely candidate to be Nakamoto. 

Notable figures, including Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, have laid claims to this identity. However, a federal high court dismissed Wright’s claims earlier this year.  

Despite the court’s ruling, some Bitcoin community members still think Wright will likely be Nakamoto. Reacting to this claim, Schwartz said he is more likely to be Nakamoto than Wright. 

This is complete nonsense. Craig had strong incentive to prove he was Satoshi and failed to do so. Many others have had no such incentive. I'm more likely to be Satoshi than Craig is.

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) April 16, 2024

As reported earlier, Nakamoto described Ripple as interested in building its payment system with trust.