The concerns in this space go beyond personal safety, though that isn't an insignificant one. For safety, It doesn't matter what one can prove because almost by definition anyone who is going to be dangerous is not behaving in an informed and rational way, consider the crazy person who was threatening Gwern. It's also not possible to actually prove you do not own a large number of Bitcoins-- the coins themselves are pseudonymous, and many people can not imagine that a person would willingly part with a large amount of money (or decline to take it in the first place). No one knows which, if any, Bitcoins are owned by the system's creator. There is a lot of speculation which is know to me to be bogus; e.g. identifying my coins as having belonged to the creator. So even if someone were to provably dispose of all their holdings, there will be people alleging other coins. The bigger issue is that the Bitcoin system gains much of its unique value by being defined by software, by mechanical rule and not trust. In a sense, Bitcoin matters because its creator doesn't. This is a hard concept for most people, and there is a constant demand by the public to identify "the person in charge". To stand out risks being appointed Bitcoin's central banker for life, and in doing so undermine much of what Bitcoin has accomplished. Being a "thought leader" also produces significant demands on your time which can inhibit making meaningful accomplishments. Finally, it would be an act which couldn't be reversed.

This is interesting and something I hadn't thought about. Now I'm more curious who Satoshi is and why he or she or they have decided to remain anonymous. Thanks! You might want to post your idea somewhere else too, like the Bitcoin reddit or forum, since probably not many people will get to read it here.