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Australian Entrepreneur Says He Created Bitcoin, but Doubts Persist Australian Entrepreneur Says He Created Bitcoin, but Doubts Persist
(about 7 hours later)
It is another mystery about the mysterious founder of Bitcoin. An Australian entrepreneur claimed on Monday to be the creator of the online currency Bitcoin. Within hours, the skepticism started.
An Australian entrepreneur claimed on Monday to be the creator of the online currency. But almost immediately, digital currency developers expressed doubt about the claim. Whether the truth is ultimately uncovered, the hunt for the founder’s identity is part of the new reality of the online age. A vast array of new tools and technologies make it ever easier to hide in the vast digital ocean that is the Internet — and all the more difficult to put a face to every screen name.
Craig Steven Wright, a computer entrepreneur, told the BBC, The Economist and GQ that he was the currency’s founder. He said he had been forced to come forward because so many people were pursuing him. The identity debate is crucial for Bitcoin as those in the virtual currency community take sides over its direction. Some purists want to maintain Bitcoin’s outsider status, underscored by the mystique surrounding its founder. Others see an opportunity to expand Bitcoin into the commercial realm, making it more vulnerable to speculation and uncertainty.
“I didn’t take the decision lightly to make my identity public,” Mr. Wright said in a news release, “and I want to be clear that I’m doing this because I care so passionately about my work, and also to dispel any negative myths and fears about Bitcoin.” Craig Steven Wright, the computer programmer who claimed in interviews with the BBC, The Economist and GQ to be the currency’s progenitor, said that he had come forward to quell the rumors. While Mr. Wright was first identified as Bitcoin’s founder in December 2015 by Wired magazine and the technology website Gizmodo, he remained silent then.
The latest twist in Bitcoin’s origin story comes as the virtual currency faces an existential crisis over its evolution. Bitcoin’s longtime backers have been split recently over how to grow the Bitcoin network. In the meantime, the growth of the system has stalled. Mr. Wright said that he now wanted to “dispel any negative myths and fears” about the virtual currency. “I cannot allow the misinformation that has been spread to impact the future of Bitcoin,” he said.
Founded as a digital competitor to existing currencies, Bitcoin has moved more into the mainstream of late. Financial institutions are putting resources into researching how they can use the blockchain, the currency’s communal digital ledger, to make transactions faster and cheaper. Competition, too, has risen, with a host of new virtual currencies, like Ethereum. He didn’t offer further insight in the timing of his announcement. And he declined an interview request through a representative at the Outside Organisation, a public relations company.
While some see an opportunity to expand Bitcoin into the commercial realm, many purists want it to maintain its outsider status. And the mystery surrounding Bitcoin’s founder, a developer who went by the name Satoshi Nakamoto, has been central to the virtual currency’s cachet since it surfaced in 2009. If his claims prove true, Mr. Wright could help shape the debate over the future of Bitcoin. The direction of the virtual currency is at an impasse ahead of a major Bitcoin conference on Monday.
Satoshi, as the creator became known, communicated only by electronic message, never revealed his or her true identity and cut off all communication in 2011. That led to frequent speculation about Satoshi’s identity — speculation that proved wrong. In perhaps the most notable example, Newsweek claimed in 2014 that the founder was Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, a physicist living in California. He denied being the Bitcoin founder. But many technical experts, including some of the leading Bitcoin developers, said that Mr. Wright’s evidence did not prove he was the digital currency’s creator, identified by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
To back up the latest claims, the BBC said Mr. Wright had provided digitally signed messages using cryptographic keys inextricably linked to Bitcoin generated by Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym previously linked to the currency’s creator. Mr. Wright also posted evidence on his blog, where he wrote, “Since those early days, after distancing myself from the public persona that was Satoshi, I have poured every measure of myself into research. I have been silent, but I have not been absent.” “It would take the real Satoshi about five minutes to provide conclusive proof to the entire Bitcoin community, if the real Satoshi wanted to do that,” said Joseph Bonneau, a researcher at the Applied Crypto Group at Stanford University.
Mr. Wright was first identified as Satoshi Nakamoto in December 2015 by Wired magazine and the technology website Gizmodo. Then there were the enthusiasts who sought to play down the importance of the founder’s identity. The creator, they argued, has remained anonymous for years and the currency’s popularity has grown regardless.
Soon after those articles were published, the Australian Federal Police raided Mr. Wright’s home in a suburb of Sydney in connection with a tax investigation. The Australian tax authorities said at the time that they had determined that Mr. Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto. Mr. Wright is “a lot like those very difficult geek/nerd/blatherers that turn minor I.T. support into a social drama,” Ian Grigg, a crypto-currency researcher, wrote in a blog entry.
Gavin Andresen, who succeeded Satoshi Nakamoto as the lead Bitcoin developer, wrote on Monday on his blog that he believed Mr. Wright’s claim. “Satoshi was more than a name, it was a concept, a secret, a team, a vision. Now Satoshi lives on in a new form — changed,” he added. “Much of the secret is gone, but the vision is still there.”
“After spending time with him, I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt: Craig Wright is Satoshi,” Mr. Andresen wrote. “During our meeting, I saw the brilliant, opinionated, focused, generous — and privacy-seeking — person that matches the Satoshi I worked with six years ago.” In the world of cybercrimes and encryption, finding the human behind the computer is the exception, not the rule.
But the Bitcoin community was not in consensus. Another one of the leading developers working on Bitcoin’s basic software, Gregory Maxwell, said that the evidence presented by Mr. Wright was not enough to convince him. The leaker of the Panama Papers, the trove of documents that exposed offshore accounts used by the rich and powerful, remains anonymous. The digital culprits who stole more than $80 million from Bangladesh’s central bank remain at large. And there is still no concrete indication of the perpetrators of the hack against Sony in 2014.
“It demonstrates no connection between this person and Bitcoin’s creation,” Mr. Maxwell wrote in an email to The New York Times. The creator of the illicit Internet market called the Silk Road, known in part for its reliance on Bitcoin, was confirmed only by an operation in which he was grabbed at a San Francisco library with his laptop open. Before that, all that was known about him was an intriguing screen name: Dread Pirate Roberts.
Michael Marquardt, a programmer who is in charge of Bitcoin discussion boards, wrote on Reddit under the handle “theymos” that Mr. Wright’s new writings suggested an effort to deceive the public. The latest twist in Bitcoin’s origins story is likely to feed the power vacuum that has plagued the virtual currency.
Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Marquardt stand in opposition to Mr. Andresen in the division over the best way to grow the Bitcoin network. While a decentralized nature is at Bitcoin’s core, it has also led to internal reflection over its evolution. Bitcoin’s longtime backers have recently split over the proper way to expand the network.
Mr. Wright, in interviews, has placed himself on Mr. Andresen’s side. The divisions are already coloring the debate within the Bitcoin community over whether Mr. Wright is in fact Satoshi Nakamoto. Founded as a digital competitor to existing currencies, Bitcoin has moved more into the mainstream of late. Financial institutions are putting resources into researching how they can use the blockchain, the currency’s communal digital ledger, to make transactions faster and cheaper. Competition, too, has risen, with a host of new virtual currencies, like Ethereum. And the growth of the Bitcoin system has stalled.
The main Reddit page dedicated to Bitcoin was full of conversation on Monday about the legitimacy of Mr. Wright’s claims. The mystery of Bitcoin’s founder has been central to its cachet ever since it surfaced in 2009. Yet the creator has also been mostly silent since Bitcoin rose to prominence.
If Mr. Wright’s claims can be confirmed, they open a whole new set of issues for Bitcoin. Does its creator have more power than others who have played a major role in its development? If the founder asserts authority over its direction, does that undercut the very power of the currency as a decentralized system?
Mr. Wright’s revelation was made just before a large Bitcoin conference began in New York on Monday. After the announcement, the price of Bitcoin fell about $10.
Satoshi, as the creator became known, communicated only by electronic message and never revealed his or her true identity before cutting off all communication in 2011. That has led to frequent speculation about the identity of Satoshi — speculation that has so far proved wrong.
In perhaps the most notable case, Newsweek claimed in 2014 that the founder was Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, a physicist living in California. The revelation fueled a reporter-driven car chase of Mr. Nakamoto across Los Angeles, an indication of the tabloid-level curiosity behind Bitcoin’s originator. Dorian Nakamoto eventually denied being the Bitcoin founder.
If Mr. Wright is perpetrating a hoax, it is a rather elaborate one.
To back up his claims, the BBC said Mr. Wright had provided digitally signed messages using cryptographic keys inextricably linked to Bitcoins generated by Satoshi Nakamoto. Mr. Wright also posted evidence on his blog, including a technical walk through of how to verify cryptographic keys.
“I didn’t take the decision lightly to make my identity public,” Mr. Wright said in a news release, “and I want to be clear that I’m doing this because I care so passionately about my work.”
Soon after the stories were published in Wired and Gizmodo, the Australian Federal Police raided Mr. Wright’s home in suburban Sydney in connection with a tax investigation. The Australian tax authorities said at the time that they had determined that Mr. Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto.
Gavin Andresen, who succeeded Satoshi Nakamoto as the lead Bitcoin developer, wrote Monday on his blog that he believed Mr. Wright’s claim. Mr. Andresen has pushed for a bigger Bitcoin, a strategy Mr. Wright also appears to back.
“After spending time with him, I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt: Craig Wright is Satoshi,” Mr. Andresen wrote. “During our meeting, I saw the brilliant, opinionated, focused, generous — and privacy-seeking — person that matches the Satoshi I worked with six years ago.
But the Bitcoin community was not in consensus.
Another of the leading developers working on Bitcoin’s basic software, Gregory Maxwell, said that the evidence presented by Mr. Wright was not enough to convince him. “It demonstrates no connection between this person and Bitcoin’s creation,” Mr. Maxwell wrote in an email to the Times.
A programmer who is in charge of the Bitcoin discussion boards, Michael Marquardt, wrote on Reddit — under the screen name “theymos” — that Mr. Wright’s new writings suggest an effort to deceive the public. And the main Reddit page dedicated to Bitcoin was full of discussion on Monday about the legitimacy of Mr. Wright’s claims.
“Altogether, the weight of the new evidence tips the scales very little, and the scales were already stacked against him being Satoshi,” said Jeremy Clark, an assistant professor at the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering in Montreal.