Now, imagine if the real Satoshi's identity is found. If he/she is still alive, governments would be on his/her tail to put him/her in jail or even pay a hefty sum of taxes. Once this happens, Bitcoin might fail within the mainstream world. Of course, the community is what makes Bitcoin great. But I'm sure that the reveal of Satoshi's identity will have an influence (either positive or negative) over the cryptocurrency's price and reputation worldwide.
I'm not sure if someone who developed a technology was arrested because of the technology, and there is no clear evidence. I agree on digital traces, but this is anonymous and Satoshi is also entitled to legal protection because he only makes. and so far he has not committed a crime but crypto users are doing it.
I once read about a thread made by someone who told Satoshi, that he would remain anonymous and would not show himself and if not mistaken it was made a few years ago. in other cases if satoshi is properly captured I think the level of user distrust will decrease and what you say might be true that bitcoin will become dust.