The search for the creator of the digital currency Bitcoin has pointed the finger at a number of individuals, but none have taken credit for creating the (largely) anonymous financial transaction system and the true originator hasn’t been found.
Today, however, Australian Craig Wright claimed that he is behind Bitcoin, and reportedly provided proof to the BBC, The Economist and GQ. TNW has not verified the data.
The third-party verification took the form of specific bitcoin blocks that were known to have been originally mined by Nakamoto, and Wright demonstrated that they were the same blocks that had been used to send bitcoin to Hal Finney, an engineer who was also instrumental in making the currency a success.
According to the BBC, credible and long-standing members of the bitcoin community have stood behind Wright’s claim, though others question its veracity.
Why now?
Wright has been put squarely in the frame as the creator of bitcoin in the past, and shortly after these stories surfaced, his home was raided as part of a tax operation.
The cryptocurrency creator is stepping forward now to put an end to speculation over who originally created bitcoin, and to help drive development and adoption of it forwards, according to comments given to the BBC.
I have not done this because it is what I wanted. It’s not because of my choice.
I really do not want to be the public face of anything. I would rather not do it.
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.
Of course, not wanting fame or money is admirable, though Wright does reportedly have one million bitcoins, which would currently be worth somewhere around $450 million, so he’s unlikely to need to worry about cash any time soon.
It’s entirely possible that this might not be the end of this tale about bitcoin’s original creator, if chatter in the bitcoin community is anything to go by.
Read next: The Web’s growing doubt that Craig Wright is the real creator of Bitcoin
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