‘Dr. Doom’ Nouriel Roubini Says He Is Satoshi Nakamoto, But Elon Musk’s Grok Isn’t Having It

Economist Nouriel Roubini, one of Bitcoin’s BTC/USD fiercest critics, attempted an April Fools’ Day joke pretending to be Satoshi Nakamoto, but artificial intelligence bot Grok saw through the ruse. 

What happened: In an X post on Tuesday, Roubini shared an article titled, “Nouriel Roubini Comes Out as Satoshi Nakamoto, Signs with Private Key.”

The report claimed Roubini presented “indisputable evidence” to prove that he was the anonymous creator of the world’s first blockchain.

The economist known for his bearish predictions before the 2008 financial crisis wanted to “save the world” and created a digital currency with the help of a team of coders, the report mentioned..

“I came up with the idea, I came up with everything, and I mined the early blocks,” he was quoted as saying. Roubini even claimed that he mined an early block believed to have been mined by Satoshi with his private key.

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To check the veracity of the claims, an X user, Ankit Madhwani, asked AI chatbot Grok for assistance, which led to the discovery of the prank.

“No, it’s likely an April Fools’ prank. No evidence supports Nouriel Roubini as Satoshi Nakamoto—his Bitcoin criticism contradicts it. The April 1, 2021 article seems satirical, with no blockchain proof of a private key signature. This recurs as a crypto joke, especially on April Fools’ Day,” Grok replied.

The article’s claims were already suspicious when Roubini purportedly disclosed his private keys, which is a strict no-no for cryptocurrency holders.

Why It Matters: Roubini has been a staunch Bitcoin critic, deeming it the “mother of all scams” and blockchain the most hyped technology ever.

The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has been a subject of intense speculation, with various figures, including Bitcoin Core developers Peter Todd, Len Sassaman, and Nick Szabo, being linked to the pseudonym.

Price Action:  At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $84,565.03, up 1.90% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Photo Courtesy: Prometheus72 on Shutterstock.com

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