The consensus among experts is that the evidence Wright has provided so far is flatly unconvincing. But discovering Satoshi's true identity, even if it's not Wright after all, would finally put one of modern tech's greatest mysteries to bed. Even to the layperson, the prospect of an anonymous genius being exposed is exciting. But in the bitcoin community, astoundingly, some people just don't care about Wright or Satoshi.

They're wrong.

Prominent bitcoin entrepreneur Andreas Antonopoulos posted on Reddit that he declined an offer to assist in verifying Wright's cryptographic proof. Why? Because "bitcoin is a neutral framework of trust that can bring financial empowerment to billions of people," Antonopoulos wrote. "It works because it doesn't depend on any authority. Not even Satoshi's."

However, it's been demonstrated time and again that Satoshi's name, and supposed wishes, exude an aura of power in bitcoin. Power is at the core of politics, and despite protests to the contrary, bitcoin is a social and political system as much as it is technical. Satoshi matters because he or she could decide the very fate of bitcoin.