Benzinga - In a Substack post, penned in December 2022, “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli made an extraordinary claim that Paul Le Roux, a former programmer and criminal cartel leader, was Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).
What Happened: Shkreli said he managed to decrypt the first transfer ever sent to the late Bitcoin pioneer, Hal Finney. He wrote in the post that “the transaction was made by Paul Leroux to Hal Finney on January 12, 2009.”
See More: Best Crypto Day Trading Strategies
Shkreli is a controversial pharmaceutical entrepreneur and former hedge fund manager. He gained notoriety in 2015 after dramatically increasing the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim. In 2017, he was convicted of federal securities fraud. He was released in May 2022, after serving a seven-year prison sentence.
Paul Le Roux is a former computer programmer and alleged crime kingpin. He has been charged in the U.S. with drug trafficking, money laundering, and murder-for-hire-related crimes. In 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) successfully arrested Roux.
Greg Maxwell, a prominent developer, has challenged Shkreli’s claims by pointing out that the type of digital signature attributed to Satoshi did not emerge until after Finney had died. This suggests that someone else may now have control of the late software developer's private key.
This story was originally published on Dec. 14, 2022
Read Next: Dogecoin Co-Creator Lashes Out At Elizabeth Warren For 'Anti-Crypto Army' Plans
© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.