Craig Wright Claims He Created Bitcoins
Is Craig Wright the elusive creator of Bitcoin?
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| Craig Wright |
Australian computer scientist Craig Steven Wright has publicly identified himself as "Satoshi Nakamoto," founder of the widely-used cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
Wright has told three media organizations -- the BBC, the Economist and GQ -- that he is the father of Bitcoin. The computer scientist has also published a blog post that he says includes cryptographic proof for the claim.
Bitcoin was created in 2009, but the identity of its founder has remained shrouded in secrecy. The creator used the name "Satoshi Nakamoto," but many experts have assumed the moniker was a pseudonym.
Speculation over the mystery flourished in recent years, and multiple media outlets carried out investigations that sought to unmask the founder.
Newsweek, for example, reported in 2014 that a retired engineer named Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto was the creator of Bitcoin. But Nakamoto forcefully denied the report, saying he had never even heard of the currency.
Related: Alleged Bitcoin creator denies he's the one
In 2015, tech publications Wired and Gizmodo put forward Wright's name. "Either Wright invented bitcoin, or he's a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did," Wired wrote at the time.
But many questions remained unanswered.
The blog published by Wright on Monday seeks to remove all doubts. 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.
Wright demonstrated the procedure for the Economist, which reported that, "as far as we can tell he indeed seems to be in possession of the keys."
Still, the Economist, which agreed not to write about the computer scientist until the blog post was published, has doubts.
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"Our conclusion is that Mr Wright could well be Mr Nakamoto, but that important questions remain," the magazine said in its report.
Wright did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
"Some people will believe, some people won't," he told the BBC. "And to tell you the truth, I don't really care."
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/02/technology/bitcoin-creator-craig-steven-wright/index.html
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