Hero/Villain

The inside story of the man who claims to have invented Bitcoin, and his battle to protect it.

“Fans of cryptocurrency, and perhaps forensic accountants, will want to give this a read.” —Kirkus

In 2008, when the Bitcoin Whitepaper was published online, the technology world changed forever. Hero / Villain: Satoshi: The Man Who Built Bitcoin tells the story of how an awkward Australian security specialist who, having first been outed against his will by the press in 2015, claimed to have created something truly revolutionary under the moniker “Satoshi Nakamoto.” Thereafter, his authenticity continually in dispute by the wider crypto world, the undeniably divisive man spent almost a decade in and out of courts around the world trying to protect what he claimed to be his prized invention.

Initially intended to be a force for good that would allow people to transact directly and inexpensively online, it wasn’t long before Bitcoin became something else: a speculative asset with a cast of powerful investors hellbent on manipulating it for their own gain.

For the first time, the inside story of the most compelling strand of the Bitcoin identity saga is laid bare—a tale with greed, power, and betrayal at its heart. With firsthand interviews with the man still more likely than most to be Bitcoin’s inventor and also from those who have fought with him to ensure Bitcoin fulfills its positive and potentially world-changing purpose, Hero/Villain: Satoshi: The Man Who Built Bitcoin serves as an important book in the context of a world where cryptocurrency is in turmoil.