Lawyer James Murphy demanded through the court that the US Department of Homeland Security disclose data on bitcoin creators

What’s new? Cryptocurrency lawyer James Murphy has sued the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to demand disclosure of information about the creator of bitcoin, known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Murphy’s lawsuit relies on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), under which the public can go to federal regulators to obtain internal records.

Source: X.com

What else is known? Murphy refers to DHS special agent Rana Saoud’s statement at the OffshoreAlert conference in April 2019 that several of her colleagues had previously met with four people involved in the creation of bitcoin.

“My FOIA lawsuit simply asks for the notes, email and other documents relating to that alleged interview. IF the interview really happened as the DHS Agent claimed, there should be documentation of the substance of that meeting,” Murphy said in his X account under the pseudonym MetaLawMan.

Murphy has emphasized that he will “pursue the case to conclusion” even if DHS resists disclosure.

Murphy is being assisted in the case by former Assistant US Attorney Brian Field, who specializes in Freedom of Information Act litigation.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Murphy noted that the US government should be transparent and not keep secrets from citizens unless there are legitimate national security concerns or other limited exceptions.

However, Murphy emphasized that he is a supporter of bitcoin, investing in the asset and participating in mining since 2017, and advocating for its adoption. He noted, however, that the creator of bitcoin is unknown, while the origins of other major crypto projects are relatively transparent. Murphy seeks transparency for BTC as well, which would open the door to wider adoption of the asset in the United States and around the world.

Since bitcoin has an open source code, which can only be changed through the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) process, Satoshi will not be able to unilaterally influence changes to the blockchain. Therefore, revealing Satoshi’s identity is unlikely to have a negative impact on bitcoin; moreover, transparency will help increase adoption of the asset, Murphy concluded.

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Last October, a controversial HBO documentary claimed that bitcoin was invented by cypherpunk Peter Todd. He denied the claim, and most industry experts also felt that the film crew did not provide solid evidence.

Nick Szabo, Adam Back, and Hal Finney have also been linked to Satoshi’s identity. Szabo and Back have regularly denied their involvement in the creation of the first cryptocurrency, as did Finney before he died in 2013.

Members of the bitcoin community are divided on whether revealing Satoshi’s identity will be positive for the asset. Some fear it could jeopardize the decentralization of bitcoin and Satoshi’s security, while others want to be assured that bitcoin was not created by the US government.