It's important because whoever Satoshi is controls a significant number of bitcoins [1]. This gives them a large ability to affect the market for bitcoins and is a potential risk if they ever choose to do so. I'm sure for many people, they'd like to protect their investments into bitcoin, so knowing the identity of Satoshi is important to them.
How does this relate to knowing who Satoshi is? Are you implying that Bitcoin investors should pressurise or threaten Satoshi in some way? That is disturbing...
Whoa, talking about going overboard. I'm implying no such thing.
What I am saying is that if you're investing into bitcoin it's intelligent to know what you're getting into. Satoshi currently controls around 12% of all bitcoins. And even with the maximum number Satoshi will control 7% of all bitcoins.
This is huge potential to disrupt the market and knowing what the person or people who are Satoshi might do has a potentially huge investment impact. Hence the reason that people have the desire to know who Satoshi is.
And you think that if you know the true name of Satoshi, you will have a chance of knowing what they might do? How exactly does that work? Will they suddenly put up their hand and say "Yup, it's me. From now on, I'm going to give advance notice of everything I will do that is bitcoin related" ? That makes no sense.
So, there's a wallet with a large number of bitcoins in it. Does it matter who owns it? Is it likely that the owner (named or otherwise unknown) is going to give you a heads-up before they sell any?
If he/she dies their heirs will want to liquidate their estate. This event by far will lead to the largest flood of BTC on the market. Look for a big crash 0 to 40 years from now.
I honestly prefer the mystery to remain, but therein lies the challenge for those whose noses twitch at a good mystery and a show of intellectual prowess that is demanded to unmask a supposedly ghost-like figure.
It is not important: it is interesting for some people. A historian might use the term "important" but curiosity is the source of a lot of human endeavours.
If bitcoin is successful in the long run then Satoshi will become extremely rich, maybe one of the wealthiest people in the world. I think it makes finding out who it is more than mere "voyeurism". Imagine if some extremist group hides behind the Satoshi sockpuppet for instance. At that point I'd say it's unlikely but far from impossible.
It's not particularly important, but it would be interesting to know, and if Bitcoin succeeds he could easily become the wealthiest person in the world.
