The estimated net worth of the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has recently seen a significant decrease of $20 billion, according to data compiled by the analytics platform Arkham. Despite this substantial drop, Nakamoto's wealth is still considerable, surpassing that of prominent figures such as Walmart heiress Alice Walton and Bloomberg L.P. co-founder Michael Bloomberg.

This fluctuation in net worth is directly tied to the volatile nature of Bitcoin's price. Earlier this Friday, the leading cryptocurrency experienced a dip, careening to an intraday low of $103,856 before recovering most of its losses. This showcases the direct impact of market movements on Satoshi's estimated fortune.

Satoshi's mysterious wealth was first brought to light through the work of blockchain researcher Sergio Demian Lerner. Lerner's analysis revealed that a single miner was responsible for producing approximately 1.1 million BTC during the inaugural year of Bitcoin's existence. The blocks mined by this entity exhibited a unique "nonce" pattern, which allowed for the estimation of Satoshi's total holdings. Intriguingly, despite numerous "ancient whales" (early Bitcoin holders) moving their coins after long periods of inactivity, Satoshi's tokens have consistently remained untouched. However, uncertainty surrounds whether Satoshi still possesses these tokens, with some theorizing that the Bitcoin creator may no longer be alive, implying that the private keys necessary to access this vast BTC wealth could be permanently lost.

At the beginning of the month, when Bitcoin surged to its all-time high of $126,080, Satoshi's net worth briefly climbed above $130 billion. This placed Satoshi in a league comparable to the world's richest billionaires, a list that includes Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page. There was even past speculation about whether Satoshi Nakamoto could become the world's first trillionaire due to the rapid appreciation of Bitcoin's price. While that particular milestone has not been reached by Satoshi, Elon Musk has already achieved a significant portion of that wealth, with his net worth recently surpassing $500 billion.