Pierluigi Paganini
May 02, 2016
The mystery about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of the Bitcoin virtual currency scheme, seems to be resolved, the man is the Australian entrepreneur Craig Steven Wright.
Craig Wright publicly admitted of being the Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto and provided technical proof of his assertion by using the cryptographic keys linked to Satoshi Nakamoto. Prominent members of the Bitcoin community and its core development team have also confirmed that Mr Wright is who is claims to be.
Jon Matonis, one of the founding directors of the Bitcoin Foundation also believe that Mr Wright is telling the truth.
“During the London proof sessions, I had the opportunity to review the relevant data along three distinct lines: cryptographic, social, and technical,” he said. “It is my firm belief that Craig Wright satisfies all three categories.”
How I Met Satoshi https://t.co/AJI5RPrQZw
— Jon Matonis (@jonmatonis) 2 maggio 2016
Craig Wright revealed his identity to the BBC, the Economist and GQ.
“At the meeting with the BBC, Mr Wright digitally signed messages using cryptographic keys created during the early days of Bitcoin’s development. The keys are inextricably linked to blocks of bitcoins known to have been created or “mined” by Satoshi Nakamoto.” states the BBC.
“These are the blocks used to send 10 bitcoins to Hal Finney in January [2009] as the first bitcoin transaction,” said Mr Wright during his demonstration.
Hal Finney is a popular cryptographer who helped Mr Wright in the creation of the Bitcoin protocol.
“I was the main part of it, but other people helped me,” he said.
In December 2015, Gizmodo and Wired, published articles containing the details of their investigation on Satoshi Nakamoto. They named Mr Wright as the person behind the moniker Satoshi Nakamoto after receiving documents believed to be stolen from Wright.
While the media were announcing to have found the real identity of the Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, the Australian police raided his home in Sidney.
The Australian Federal police issued an official statement explaining that the raids were not related to the bitcoin claims.
“The AFP can confirm it has conducted search warrants to assist the Australian Taxation Office at a residence in Gordon and a business premises in Ryde, Sydney. This matter is unrelated to recent media reporting regarding the digital currency bitcoin.”
One officer told Reuters they were “clearing the house”, Reuters also reported that also the Wright’s offices have been raided.
The emails cited by Gizmodo don’t state that Wright is a founder of the Bitcoin, instead, suggest his involvement in the development of the cryptocurrency. Wright was trying to persuade the Australian Taxation Office to tax his Bitcoin holdings as a currency and not as an asset.
Nakamoto reportedly has some 1.1 Million Bitcoins to his name in a trust fund that amounts to roughly 455 Million in US Dollars, it is exactly the same amount that Wright is believed to own.
“An email to a Clayton Utz lawyer identified as Wright’s lawyer in the ATO transcripts was sent from an address linked to Nakamoto and is signed “Craig (possibly).” “The email discussed whether contact should be made with Australia’s then assistant treasurer Arthur Sinodinos in January 2014 over the regulatory issues in Australia surrounding bitcoin.” continues the Guardian.
“The treatment of bitcoin for tax purposes in Australia has been the subject of considerable debate. The ATO ruled in December 2014 that cryptocurrency should be considered an asset for capital gains tax purposes.”
The BBC questioned Mr Wright about the raid and the expert confirmed that he was cooperating fully with the ATO.
“We have lawyers negotiating with them over how much I have to pay,” he explained.
“There are lots of stories out there that have been made up and I don’t like it hurting those people I care about,” he said. “I don’t want any of them to be impacted by this.”
“I have not done this because it is what I wanted. It’s not because of my choice,” he said to the BBC.
“I really do not want to be the public face of anything,” he said, expressing regret that he had been forced to reveal his identity.
“I would rather not do it,” he said. “I want to work, I want to keep doing what I want to do. I don’t want money. I don’t want fame. I don’t want adoration. I just want to be left alone.”
Is this the end of a saga?
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(Security Affairs – Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin)
