Craig Wright's confession: what's known about the creator of bitcoin

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Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright confirmed to reporters that he is the creator of Bitcoin, a popular cryptocurrency (the Internet’s own currency).

Who is Craig Wright, and why the whole world talks about him today, tried to find out the site meduza.io.

Craig Wright. He is 45. Doing business

Until recently, he was known only for his proposal to open a Bitcoin bank in 2014. His companies invest in Bitcoin wallets, Bitcoin exchanges and other cryptocurrency-related businesses. It is known that the Australian police had complaints against Wright - apparently, they concerned the payment of taxes.

In December, 2015 even searched his home. Wright wrote several papers on the topic of cryptocurrency, and in the summer of 2008, a few months before the publication of a scientific article by a certain Satoshi Nakamoto about bitcoins, he announced similar material on his blog.

Wright first tied with bitcoins in December 2015

Then the editions of Wired and Gizmodo published large investigations on the basis of the Australian correspondence transmitted to journalists. It followed from it that Wright could be hiding under the pseudonym Satosi Nakamoto; at least, this was indicated by many circumstantial evidence. Wright himself did not comment on the investigation. Just simultaneously with the publication of the material in the house of the entrepreneur searched.

Evidence Inventions

“Satoshi is dead. This is just the beginning." wrote in his blog 2 in May, Craig Wright and accompanied the post with detailed instructions on how to verify the authenticity of his statements about the creation of cryptocurrency. We got acquainted with this evidence before publication. Journalists. The information concerned data about the first in the history of Bitcoins, which were created by Wright's supercomputers. Theoretically, only the real creator of bitcoins could have such information about them.

Journalists came to the conclusion that the evidence presented by the Australian was quite convincing. John Matonis, one of the former leaders of the Bitcoin Foundation (a company involved in the development of the cryptocurrency system), is also sure of this: he has been in correspondence with Nakamoto since 2010. When he first met Wright last year, he suggested that he was the creator of Bitcoin. Matonis, along with journalists, reviewed Wright’s documents and agreed that he was Satoshi Nakamoto.

There are doubts

Most skeptical about the Craig Wright story reacted in The Economist. The publication gives several reasons that can not be overlooked. First of all, it is the very way in which Wright proves his authorship. Without going into details, Wright showed reporters only what he wanted and refused to enter into encrypted correspondence with The Economist, although this would help confirm that he has the same encryption keys as Nakamoto.

Most skeptical about the Craig Wright story reacted in The Economist. The publication gives several reasons that can not be overlooked. First of all, this is the very way in which Wright proves his authorship. Without going into details, Wright showed reporters only what he wanted and refused to enter into encrypted correspondence with The Economist, although this would help confirm that he has the same encryption keys as Nakamoto.

He himself says that he does not seek fame or money, but simply wants to establish clarity and dispel rumors generated by publications in the press. However, six months ago, when no one considered Wright to be the creator of Bitcoins, he entered into some kind of agreement with the writer Andrew O'Hegen, the author of the unauthorized biography of Julian Assange. Perhaps Wright decided to reveal himself before the journalists got to him.

Wright, he said, took the pseudonym in honor of Tominaga Nakamoto, who was a supporter of free trade. Wright declined to say where Satoshi's nickname came from: "Some things should remain secret," he said.

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