While the crypto community has long gotten used to waves of speculation about who might be behind the Satoshi Nakamoto name, a recent legal move by lawyer James Murphy — known to many online as MetaLawMan — has once again nudged the conversation in unexpected directions, including toward Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz.

Murphy has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, pressing for the release of documents that may, according to his argument, shed light on meetings reportedly held between the agency and individuals associated with Bitcoin’s early development. 

Murphy seems to believe that somewhere in those files could lie the missing link that finally attaches a real-world identity to Bitcoin’s mystery founder.

As the crypto world caught wind of this, the ripple effect led some enthusiasts to revisit old theories about who Satoshi could be, and once again, Schwartz’s name entered the chat. 

Given his extensive cryptography background, his role as one of the key architects of the XRP Ledger and his deep involvement in blockchain infrastructure, it is not exactly surprising that his name occasionally pops up in these kinds of conversations — even if he has addressed the idea before.

In a typical crypto-Twitter fashion, someone joked that if Schwartz were Satoshi, now might be a pretty good time to take the money and run. 

His response? A tongue-in-cheek nod in the form of a GIF from South Park, where a character explains that the money is gone — a light, slightly ironic gesture that seemed to acknowledge the absurdity of the speculation without giving it too much weight.

Schwartz previously clarified he did not become aware of Bitcoin until 2011, which was well after its launch, and has been consistent in saying that while he might have had the skill set, he was not involved. 

Still, the curiosity around Nakamoto’s identity never quite disappears — it just shifts with the headlines.