Bitcoin underpins a two trillion-dollar cryptocurrency industry, is now traded by the world’s biggest investment houses and is even an official currency in one country.
But despite its meteoric rise, a deep mystery remains at its heart: what is the true identity of its founder, the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto?
Many have tried to answer that question, but so far all have failed. In October, a high-profile HBO documentary suggested that a Canadian bitcoin expert called Peter Todd was he. The only problem: he said he was not, and the crypto world largely shrugged it off.
So, inevitably, ears pricked up across our newsroom – and the crypto world at large – when on Thursday a call went out that the mysterious creator of Bitcoin was to, finally, unmask himself at a press conference.
There is deep interest in who Satoshi Nakamoto is in part because they are considered a revolutionary programmer who helped spawn the crypto industry.
Their voice, opinions and world view would be extremely influential on an industry with such a devoted and zealous fanbase.
But the fascination also stems from the fact that, as the holder of more than one million bitcoins, Satoshi would be a multi-billionaire, not least because the price of the coins is currently close to an all-time high.
Given that vast wealth, it was somewhat unusual to be asked by the organiser of Thursday’s press conference to pay for my seat at his grand unveiling.
A front row seat would be £100. It was another £50 if I wanted unlimited questions. Organiser Charles Anderson even encouraged me to spend £500 in exchange for the privilege of interviewing “Satoshi” on stage.
I declined.
Mr Anderson said I could come along any way but cautioned there might not be a seat for me, such was the level of anticipation.
As it happened, seating wasn’t a problem.
Only around a dozen reporters turned up to the prestigious Frontline Club – which interrupted proceedings at one point to stress it only provided a room, and not any official endorsement.
Very soon it became clear that all attendees were extremely sceptical.
After some digging it emerged both the organiser and the purported Satoshi were currently embroiled in a complex legal fight over fraud allegations – linked to claims to be Satoshi.
It was an unpromising start, and things only got worse from there.
Mr Anderson invited “Satoshi” to come on stage.
A man called Stephen Mollah, who had been sat silently on the side the whole time walked up and resolutely declared: “I am here to make a statement that yes: I am Satoshi Nakamoto and I created the Bitcoin on Blockchain technology.”
Over the following hour, reporters went from amused to irritated as he failed to provide any of the promised evidence for his claims.
Mr Mollah promised that he would make the Hail-Mary move of unlocking and interacting with the first-ever Bitcoins to be created – something that only Satoshi could do.
But he didn’t.