Read backstory about Craig Wright claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto here.
The Latest Satoshi has turned out to be another damp squib. The search continues?
There is something about Satoshi Nakamoto’s of the world which seems to be distinctly common and familiar.
They come out of the woodwork, only to go scurrying back in.
Remember the curious case of Dorian S Nakamoto and the 2014 media circus which ultimately ended when he denied being the inventor of the world’s first cryptocurrency to the Associated Press?
Fast forward to 2016 and here we are with yet another Satoshi Nakamoto, this time an Australian by the name of Dr. Craig Steven Wright.
Who or what is Craig Steven Wright?
The Financial Times ran a column questioning whether Dr. Wright was even the man he claimed to be, let alone Satoshi Nakamoto. They raised several questions about the inconsistencies in his background and story.
Alarmingly the FT wrote:
“Steven Wright says that he just wants to be “left alone”, but reliable sources say that a man using the same name and answering to a very similar physical description hired a team of public relations gurus to stage manage his revelation.”
Therefore, I think the first good question to ask would be whether the man claiming to be Craig Steven Wright or Craig Wright is even Craig Wright!
The pie in the sky
As recently as May 2, 2016, Craig Wright revealed himself as Satoshi Nakamoto in a blog post. The BBC, The Economist and GQ Magazine had access to Craig Wright before the blog was published and they claim that they interviewed him and reviewed the documents he presented. Supporting the claims of Craig Wright were Jon Matonis and Gavin Andersen both of whom are members of the Bitcoin Foundation. Jon and Gavin each supported the claims of Dr. Wright as being Satoshi Nakamoto in their blog posts.
Here is an excerpt from Jon’s blog:
“During the London proof sessions, I had the opportunity to review the relevant data along three distinct lines: cryptographic, social, and technical. Based on what I witnessed, it is my firm belief that Craig Steven Wright satisfies all three categories. For cryptographic proof in my presence, Craig signed and verified a message using the private key from block #1 newly-generated coins and from block #9 newly-generated coins (the first transaction to Hal Finney). The social evidence, including his unique personality, early emails that I received, and early drafts of the Bitcoin white paper, points to Craig as the creator.”
Here is one from Gavin’s blog:
“I was flown to London to meet Dr. Wright a couple of weeks ago, after an initial email conversation convinced me that there was a very good chance he was the same person I’d communicated with in 2010 and early 2011. After spending time with him I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt: Craig Wright is Satoshi.”
The gigantic hole in the pie
After the revelations were made about Craig Wright being Satoshi Nakamoto, several people rightly questioned these claims. Craig Wright then said that he would provide further proof that he is Satoshi Nakamoto by moving one of the earliest Bitcoins known to belong to Nakamoto.
This was until Craig Wright’s website published the apology given below and a refusal to publish the proof of access to one of the earliest Bitcoin keys.
A touching apology was also issued to Jon Matonis and Gavin Anderson with the hope that their honour and credibility were not irreparably tainted by his actions.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating of it
We can only say that Satoshi’s come and Satoshi’s go.
The true proof of the Satoshi Nakamoto pudding is in the eating. It is only when someone appears in public and moves one of the earliest Bitcoin ever mined will there be enough evidence that we have found the one true Satoshi Nakamoto.
As David Duccini, Executive Director at Strength in Numbers Foundation and Chief Architect of 2GIVE says, “My original opinion stands: he (or anyone) simply has to move coins — that has ALWAYS been the Proof of Ownership test in BTC.”
Read backstory about Craig Wright claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto here.