On Monday, May 2, Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist and tech entrepreneur, revealed himself as the creator of controversial digital currency bitcoin.
Five months ago, Craig Steven Wright was revealed against his will as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, according to a previous report on Wired. Back then, experts were divided over the question whether Wright was indeed the mysterious person who until now has gone by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto.
After he was outed in December, Mr. Wright kept silent. But it seems he changed his mind. According to The Economist, now Mr. Wright said in a BBC interview that he is indeed the elusive creator of bitcoin. He also offered cryptographic proof to make his case, backed up by other information.
Experts are still not convinced beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Wright is the one who really created bitcoin. It may never be possible, in fact, to answer this question with certainty. Whether people actually believe Mr. Wright's claim will greatly depend on what he is going to do next, after going public.
It is unclear why Mr. Wright changed his mind. But according to his own explanation, he wants to set the record straight rather than seeking publicity. He goes on to explain that he has chosen to call himself "Nakamoto" after a 17th century Japanese merchant and philosopher named Tominaga Nakamoto, who favored free trade.
Mr. Wright said that other people helped him to develop the cryptocurrency named bitcoin, while he has been the main part of it. He added that he knows that some people will believe his claims while other would not, but he does not really care about what others think.
According to Reuters, uncovering Nakamoto's real identity would help solving a mystery dating back to 2008. In that year was published for the first time the open source software behind the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
Since its launch a year later, in 2009, Bitcoin has become the world's most commonly used virtual currency. The digital cryptocurrency is attracting the interest of criminals and speculators, as much as the interest of regulators and banks.
