What if the creator of $BTC isn’t missing at all… but actually sitting in prison?
There’s a fascinating and controversial theory floating around:
Satoshi Nakamoto might be none other than Paul Le Roux — a former programmer turned international criminal mastermind.
Let’s break it down.
Paul Le Roux, originally from Zimbabwe, was a highly skilled coder. He created E4M, a powerful open-source encryption software so advanced that even top government agencies reportedly struggled with it. His manifesto championed encryption as the ultimate safeguard of personal freedom — a message that rings eerily similar to early $BTC philosophy.
In the early 2000s, Le Roux used his tech knowledge to run online pharmaceutical operations that pushed legal boundaries. But his empire soon evolved into something darker. He became a cartel kingpin, operating with military-style precision using encrypted communication, fake passports, and tightly controlled structures.
By 2008 — the same year $BTC appeared — Le Roux was looking for ways to move massive amounts of money globally without detection. Enter
Here’s where things start to raise eyebrows:
One of Le Roux’s aliases? “Paul Solotshi Calder Le Roux.”
Solotshi. Satoshi. Too close to ignore?
Satoshi’s online activity stopped in 2010.
Le Roux was captured in 2012.
During the famous Kleiman v. Wright trial, leaked court documents linked to Le Roux’s Wikipedia page — the first public connection between him and..
He reportedly told a judge that once released, he planned to start a Bitcoin mining company and develop ASIC hardware.
He had:
The motive — a need for borderless, anonymous financial infrastructure.
The technical know-how — he built complex software from scratch.
The ideology — a fierce commitment to privacy and distrust of centralized power.
But not everything fits:
Their programming styles differ.
Satoshi was measured and polite; Le Roux was unpredictable and ruthless.
There’s no direct evidence that Le Roux used Bitcoin for his criminal operations.
Some messages from Satoshi appeared after Le Roux was imprisoned.
So, could Paul Le Roux be the mysterious creator of Bitcoin? Or is this just a case of compelling coincidences?
What’s your take — is Satoshi still out there, or has he been locked up all along?