Bitcoin is designed for secure financial transactions that require no central authority no banks, no government regulators. In it, the computer scientist claims to verify the cryptographic keys to a key Bitcoin “block”, or group of transactions, that dates to the early days of the currency.
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This verification took the form of specific bitcoin blocks that were known to have been originally mined by Nakamoto, and Whit demonstrated that they were the same blocks that had been used to send bitcoin to Hal Finney, an engineer who was also instrumental in making bitcoin a success.
Dr. Wright claimed that reports and the media coverage surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto had made “life difficult” for his friends, family and employees, forcing him to publicly identify himself as the creator of Bitcoin.
The BBC said members of the bitcoin community had confirmed Wright’s claim.
Wright, long-suspected of having created the crypto-currency, a form of digital money, on Monday published a blog post offering what he said was cryptographic proof that he is indeed Nakamoto.
Wright was identified as the likely creator of Bitcoin in December 2015 by Wired and Gizmodo magazines, which cited e-mails, deleted blog posts and documents. One Bitcoin can be exchanged for nearly every other type of currency, on any number of “exchanges”. “I’m not seeking publicity”.
Along with the BBC and The Economist, Wright shared his evidence beforehand with GQ.
Wright used coins known to belong to the currency’s founder as a means of backing up his claim, the BBC reports.
At the same time, the Australian Federal Police raided Mr. Wright’s home in suburban Sydney in connection with a tax investigation.
“I was the main part of it, but other people helped me”, Wright is quoted as saying.
Wright told the Economist he named himself “Nakamoto” after a 17th-century Japanese philosopher and merchant, Tominaga Nakamoto, who strongly advocated free trade. “This impacts not just me and my work, but my family, my staff and everything else”. According to them, “Our conclusion is that Mr Wright could well be Mr Nakamoto, but that important questions remain”.
In a separate post published Monday, Bitcoin Foundation chief scientist Gavin Andresen says he is “convinced beyond a reasonable doubt” Wright is the founder after a recent meeting in London.
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Since Bitcoin’s inception, Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to have accumulated more than one million bitcoins.
