After years of speculation, the creator of Bitcoin has finally revealed his identity.
Australian Craig Wright, who for a while now has been linked to the creation of the cryptocurrency, insists he’s the man behind the famous “Satoshi Nakamoto” pseudonym associated with Bitcoin’s origin.
The BBC, who reported Wright’s admission late Sunday, says the computer scientist provided the news outlet with technical proof to support his claim. This includes cryptographic keys that apparently only Satoshi Nakamoto would have, and which were used for the very first Bitcoin transaction back in 2009.
“Prominent members of the Bitcoin community and its core development team have also confirmed Mr Wright’s claim,” the British media organization added.
Jon Matonis, one of the founding directors of the Bitcoin Foundation, says he’s certain Wright is the inventor of Bitcoin. “During the London proof sessions, I had the opportunity to review the relevant data along three distinct lines: cryptographic, social, and technical,” he said, adding, “It is my firm belief that Craig Wright satisfies all three categories.”
As for Wright, he knows there’ll be those out there who doubt his claim.
“Some people will believe, some people won’t, and to tell you the truth, I don’t really care,” he told the BBC, adding, “I was the main part of it, other people helped me.”
In a five-minute interview, Wright said he doesn’t want fame, money, or adoration; he just wants to be “left alone,” an unlikely prospect considering his claim.
He also said he’ll refuse any prizes or awards offered in the future in connection with his invention, saying, “I will never accept a cent from any of you for anything.” Last year “Nakamoto” was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Asked why he’d chosen now to reveal his connection to Bitcoin, Wright’s answer was somewhat vague: “I didn’t decide. I had people decide this matter for me. And they’re making life difficult not for me, but my friends, my family, my staff….and I don’t want any of them to be impacted by this….so I’m going to do this once, and once only…I’m going to come in front of a camera once, and I will never ever be on a camera ever again for any TV station or any media, ever.”
Wright was identified as Bitcoin’s creator at the end of last year after an investigation by Wired and Gizmodo, though Wired couldn’t say outright if its findings were correct, saying at the time, “Either Wright invented Bitcoin, or he’s a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did.”
Now the Australian is insisting he’s the real deal, though the road to convincing skeptics is likely to be a long one.
