Adam Back denies he’s Satoshi, urges clearer crypto rules

At the LONGITUDE conference in Paris this week, Blockstream CEO Adam Back denied he is Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto and urged clearer rules for the crypto industry. His remarks came during a fireside chat at the event, which was co-hosted by the OKX exchange and focused on regulation, market structure and stablecoins.

Back rejected renewed suggestions linking him to Bitcoin’s creation and described the claim as “flattering.” He traced the speculation to his active participation on early cryptography mailing lists, adding, “I was very talkative on the mailing list.” He also called the mystery around Satoshi an “interesting question.” An April 8 article that linked him to the identity of Bitcoin’s author drew renewed attention prior to the session; Back dismissed that identification during the discussion.

Panels at LONGITUDE examined how new rules in Europe and potential U.S. legislation affect crypto firms and products. OKX Europe chief Erald Ghoos said the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, has helped make crypto a regulated asset class. “MiCA is extremely beneficial for the industry,” he said, while warning that the regulatory burden could push startups and innovation to other jurisdictions.

Ronghui Gu, CEO of CertiK, pointed to inconsistent rules across regions as a challenge for developers and companies. He described some language in the proposed U.S. CLARITY Act as “a little bit vague,” while noting the bill could provide a more developer-friendly framework once clarified.

Frederik Gregaard of the Cardano Foundation expressed confidence the CLARITY Act will pass and said clearer U.S. rules would lead to wider corporate adoption. “When this passes, from the non-TradFi adoption, you are going to see 100X,” he predicted. U.S. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he does not expect the Senate Banking Committee to mark up the CLARITY Act in April and recommended scheduling the bill for consideration next month.

Speakers also debated stablecoins and payments. Christian Rau, Mastercard’s senior vice president for blockchain and digital assets, argued stablecoins are “very well suited for payment purposes” because they avoid the volatility of other crypto assets and benefit from clearer rules in some jurisdictions. He said card networks already “almost fake” real-time payments through current authorization and settlement processes.

Raja Chakravorti of the Stella Development Foundation gave a circulation estimate of about $317 billion in stablecoins, roughly a 50% increase from a year earlier, and noted growth has cooled in recent quarters as infrastructure matures. He identified local stablecoins and the “last mile” of converting digital assets into usable local currency as key hurdles for wider adoption.

Speakers repeatedly called for clearer, harmonized rules to reduce fragmentation across markets. They urged policymakers to provide precise guidance to help firms and developers operate across borders without persistent regulatory uncertainty.