More than seven years after the first bitcoin transaction, Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has stepped forward to identify himself as “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the creator of Bitcoin.
Major players involved in the development of Bitcoin have confirmed that the proof that Wright has presented that he is Nakamoto is legitimate.
In a meeting with the BBC, the Economist and GQ, Wright digitally signed messages using cryptographic keys created during the early days of Bitcoin development and linked to blocks of bitcoins mined by Nakamoto.
Wright says these blocks were used to make the first ever bitcoin transaction back in January of 2009.
Jon Matonis, Economist and founding director of the Bitcoin Foundation, verified Wright’s claims.
“During the London proof session, I had the opportunity to review the relevant data along three distinct lines: cryptographic, social and technical,” Matonis explained.
“It is my firm belief that Craig Wright satisfies all three categories.
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Other Bitcoin enthusiasts remain skeptical, but Wright plans to publicly release data to allow others to verify his identity.
Since Bitcoin’s inception, Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to have accumulated more than one million bitcoins. That would mean that Wright could potentially have generated about $450 million in profit to date.
The Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC is up 12.7 percent in 2016.
Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.
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