On Monday, Craig Wright, an Australian developer, assured in a blog post to be the creator of Bitcoin, a digital currency that has brought the attention of many government officials and even criminals looking for money laundering resources. Nakamoto has made a point of existing off the grid, having largely left the bitcoin project a few years ago.
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In interviews with the Economist, BBC, GQ and a few bitcoin insiders, bolstered by a technical demonstration meant to prove that he and Nakamoto are one and the same, Wright tried to lay to rest one of the biggest mysteries in the tech world.
The keys are “inextricably linked to blocks of bitcoins” created by the shady creator Nakamoto, according to the BBC.
The BBC said members of the bitcoin community had confirmed Wright’s claim.
After the publication of those stories, Wright scrubbed his online presence and Australian authorities raided his home, later announcing that Wright was not the creator of Bitcoin, according to the New York Times.
“Our conclusion is that he could well be Mr Nakamoto, but that nagging questions remain”, the magazine said on its website.
Bitcoin has grown to be associated with the black market due to users’ anonymity in transactions, which means Wright revealing himself as Satoshi Nakamoto puts him at risk of prosecution.
“It is my firm believe that Craig Wright satisfies all three categories”, Matonis said. “I’m now able to build on what I have previously completed by releasing my research and academic work and help people understand just how powerful this can really be”.
The decision to revoke Andersen’s admin-level privileges is undeniably tied in with his unequivocal assertion that Craig Wright is, in fact, Satoshi Nakamoto.
‘Indeed, it may never be possible to establish beyond reasonable doubt who really created bitcoin’.
The first one to criticize Wright was a Google engineer who tweeted that “He’s not Satoshi”.
The ambiguous world of Bitcoin – a widely-used cryptocurrency that doesn’t require a bank or physical cash – is starting to become a bit clearer.
He did not, however, transfer any of the bitcoins belonging to Nakamoto, which would have offered another measure to substantiate his claim.
“This incredible community’s passion and intellect and perseverance have taken my small contribution and nurtured it, enhanced it, breathed life into it”, he wrote.
“I can not allow the misinformation that has been spread to impact the future of bitcoin and the blockchain”, he added.
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Not so if 45-year-old Australian computer scientist Craig Wright is telling the truth.
