#person **Year of birth**: July 1970 **Country of origin**: [[United Kingdom]] **Studied at**: [[University of Exeter]] **Field Studied**: [[Computer Science]] **Academic Level**: PhD **Worked at**: [[Blockstream]] **Contributed to**: [[Hashcash]], [[bitcoin (BTC)]]: 1Adam3usQMbQWScA5AXnnDsRMeZeCh6ovu http://cypherspace.org/adam/ [[Cypherpunk]] Back was one of the first two people to receive an email from [[Satoshi Nakamoto]]. Quote: On Bitcoin: “I don’t sell them,” as Back believes Bitcoin will go to $300,000. ![[adam-back-img.png]] ___ 1. Adam Back is a Ph.D. in Computer Science, who is widely recognized for his diverse work in [[Cryptography|cryptography]], anonymous systems, and for being one of the earliest members of the [[cypherpunk]] movement. 2. Adam Back is a world-renowned British cryptographer, [[cypherpunk]], crypto industry leader and a leading [[Satoshi Nakamoto]] candidate. ‍ Back is best known as the inventor of the [[Proof of Work (PoW)]] system [[Hashcash]], which was initially used to address email spamming and [[Decentralized Denail of Service (DDoS)|DDoS attacks]], but is now used for transaction verification purposes. More recently, it has been used in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as part of their mining algorithms. Adam Back is also the founder and CEO of [[Blockstream]], an influential blockchain technology company that provides both [[open source]] and enterprise [[Bitcoin (blockchain)]] solutions. In 2016, Back became CEO after previously holding the roles of president and COO. His company was able to secure $90 million in funding from venture capital firms like Digital Currency Group and Khosla Ventures. Around the time of the invention of Hashcash in 1997, Back was considered a pioneer of early digital asset research like [[Wei Dai]], [[David Chaum]] and [[Hal Finney]]. Back has a deep technical knowledge of [[cryptography]], and has worked closely with a broad range of people across Bitcoin's user, business, academic and technical communities. His knowledge for privacy enhanced technology, anonymity and distributed file systems is bolstered by Back’s Ph.D. in distributed systems and computer science from the University of Exeter. There are rumors pointing to Adam Back as Satoshi Nakamoto, claiming that his profile as a veteran [[cypherpunk]] with a Ph.D. in computer science fits the description of the anonymous Bitcoin founder. Circumstantial evidence put forward by YouTuber Barely Social claimed that Back could be the unidentified inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. The evidence includes a number of descriptions Back made resembling what we now know as [[Bitcoin (blockchain)]] way back in 1998, as well as his vast technical knowledge of the blockchain and vocal presence on Bitcoin forums. Interestingly, Back was also one of the first two people to receive an email from Nakamoto, but this does not substantiate nor unsubstantiate Barely Social’s claims. Bloomberg reported that Back first reached out to Satoshi online back in 2008, with some inquiries about Hashcash. Back, however, has denied the speculations and opined that the true identity of Bitcoin’s creator is better kept hidden from the public. Nevertheless, Back is a strong proponent of Bitcoin, believing that excessive money printing and volatile real-estate investments will lead the [[Crypto (cryptocurrency)]] to an eventual price of $300,000. ‍ Quote: On Bitcoin: “I don’t sell them,” as Back believes Bitcoin will go to $300,000.