Hi. Ed here.

Somewhere in Washington there’s a vault with proof of extraterrestrial life and the truth about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, 

Oh, and one more thing: the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. 

Yes, that’s right. Satoshi has become an X file. 

Or at least that’s the vibe coming from a Virginia lawyer’s claim that the US government has known who invented Bitcoin for at least six years.

The bid to get the US Department of Homeland Security to divulge everything it knows about an apparent meeting between federal agents and Satoshi will probably go nowhere. 

And yet James Murphy, a crypto-loving lawyer who posts on X to his 46,000 followers under the handle MetaLawMan, has swung open the door on an intriguing possibility — is Satoshi’s identity far more known that we think, and if so, what does that mean?

This is no small thing. 

President Donald Trump, the self-styled crypto president, has quickly delivered the industry every policy move it’s wanted, including a nascent Bitcoin strategic reserve that may be topped up by tariff revenue. 

Moreover, his administration, working in tandem with Republican allies on Capitol Hill, is laying out a plan to integrate digital assets into the US financial system in a way that seemed impossible not too long ago.

If that wasn’t enough, a number of states are passing legislation to build Bitcoin reserves of their own. 

Just last week, Arizona lawmakers moved one step away from being the first state to make this happen, Kyle Baird reported.

And, of course, Wall Street is keen on capturing market share in the burgeoning asset class. Charles Schwab just said it was going to launch spot trading features for crypto.

Even as Bitcoin goes mainstream, we still don’t know who created the technology.

For many in crypto, this is how it should be. 

When Murphy filed his lawsuit this month to support his Freedom of Information request about the supposed meeting, many Bitcoin supporters were miffed. 

“No one needs to know the identity of Satoshi,” said ZachXBT, the noted crypto muckraker, posted on X.

Another user wrote that Murphy should just let things lie. “No need to stir the pot. What are you trying to gain from this?”

If Bitcoin had remained a sideshow, perhaps the mystery would endure. 

But now the asset, worth $1.7 trillion, is rapidly becoming a key policy priority of the Trump administration, as well as a fixture in the markets.

The recording of a conference in 2019 in which a federal agent recounted meeting with a quartet of individuals who may constitute "Satoshi Nakamoto” is bound to reenergise sleuths.

Bitcoin maxis may not like it, but the quest goes on.

ICYMI

• Binance helping ‘a lot of countries’ with crypto reserve plans, CEO says

  Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has spent years trying to quench regulatory fires globally, but governments are now asking the firm for help with cryptocurrencies.

• Arizona is poised to approve first Bitcoin reserve bill as veto threat looms

  Arizona legislators are moving closer to approving two digital asset proposals: one establishing a Bitcoin reserve using seized funds, and another allowing state investment of up to 10% in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

• Genius Act seen driving stablecoin supply to $2tn by 2028

  The US-based stablecoin supply will surge by over 760% to be worth $2 trillion by 2028. That’s according to new research from Geoff Kendrick, John Davies and Steve Englander of Standard Chartered Bank in the UK.

Story of the Week

Why Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson isn’t miffed by White House snub: ‘I don’t need to make a deal with Trump’

As more than a dozen top crypto executives strolled into the White House State Dining Room in March for the digital assets summit, one founder was left out.

Charles Hoskinson, the mercurial polymath who co-founded Ethereum and then Cardano, was nowhere to be seen, which was odd. The White House, after all, had just floated the idea of including Cardano’s token in a crypto strategic reserve.

Hoskinson shrugged off the snub.

”A lot of people want to get close to David Sacks and Bo Hines and build relationships there,” Hoskinson told DL News in his hotel suite on the sidelines of Paris Blockchain Week.

“That’s the flavour of the week. It’s nice for optics, but it doesn’t translate into sustainable, permanent policy.”

Comment of the Week

Bo Hines,executive director of Donald Trump’s Council of Advisers for digital assets, made waves last week by floating the idea of directing tariff proceeds into the fledgling Bitcoin strategic reserve.

DL News is an independent news organisation that provides original, in-depth reporting on the largely misunderstood world of cryptocurrency and decentralised finance. From original stories to investigations, our journalism is accurate, honest and responsible.

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