Who is Sotashi Nakamato - the founder of Bitcoin?

WE ONLY know one thing about the founder of this shadowy billion-dollar enterprise - his name. It just gets more mysterious from there.

Bitcoin explained in five words: Money generated by computer codes. Picture: AP

IT IS one of the mysteries of our time. Who or what is 'Satoshi Nakamato'? And just what are they up to?

The Japanese name is the alias of the founder of Bitcoin, the virtual currency that's got the internet abuzz. But his, her or their real identity is unknown.

Although we imagine he or she looks something like this. Picture: Thinkstock

What we do know is that in 2008, Satoshi developed the theory behind Bitcoin and later produced its software.

But just as the currency started to become popular, Satoshi disappeared, announcing it had "moved on to other things".

"That's part of the allure of (Bitcoin)," said former Australian Federal Police agent and security expert Nigel Phair explained. "No one knows who or what it came from".

Bitcoin explained in five words: Money generated by computer codes. Picture: AP

In its place wild conspiracy theories about Satoshi's identity concerning drug lords and intelligence agents have raged in online forums.

The mystery has become a key part of the Bitcoin myth but now we finally might be a step closer to Satoshi's true identity. Everything you ever needed to know about Bitcoin

THE MEN WITH NO NAMES

This week Satoshi was linked to another mysterious figure with a pseudonym - Dread Pirate Roberts.

DPR founded the Silk Road, the secretive online marketplace for drugs and other illicit products which exclusively used Bitcoin as its currency.

Everything must go! Picture: AP

The site was shut down last month when former Sydney resident Ross Ulbricht, the man alleged to be DPR, was arrested by the FBI at a San Francisco library.

Ulbricht lived in a Bondi shadehouse for six months, according to reports. Picture: Supplied

A pair of Israeli computer scientists investigating the issue this week claimed they discovered evidence a large sum of money may have been transferred from Sotashi to DPR early in the website's life.

The experts, Dorit Ron and Adi Shamir, said: "The short path we found suggests (but does not prove) the existence of a surprising link between the two mysterious figures of the Bitcoin community, Satoshi Nakamoto and DPR."

RELATED: Bitcoin murder bids

WHO ELSE COULD IT BE?

There are a number of other potential suspects but none admit a role in developing the world's weirdest currency.

In 2011, Joshua Davis, an investigative reporter at The New Yorker, pinpointed Irish computer student Michael Clear as mastermind.

Despite his namesake, initially he wasn't all that clear about his involvement. "I'm not Satoshi," he told investigative reporter Joshua Davis. "But even if I was I wouldn't tell you."

Gone ballistic: The value goes up and up. Picture: bitcoinity.org/bitcointrader.com.au

That's what you would say. But one thing we know is Bitcoin is all about anonymity. Payments are very difficult for law enforcement to trace, security expert Nigel Phair said.

And so is its mysterious founder - who must be very rich by now. At time of writing, 1 Bitcoin was worth more than $900 AUD.

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Going mainstream? Sydney pub the Old Fitzroy Hotel accepts Bitcoins. Picture: Daily Telegraph