http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2016/03/31/2158024/craig-wrights-upcoming-big-reveal/Bitcoinland is abuzz with speculation Craig Steven Wright will out himself as Satoshi Nakamoto, the cryptocurrency’s pseudonymous creator, within the next two weeks and that he is looking for backing in his verification from some of the industry’s biggest players.
Wright, a self-declared cyber security expert who claims to hold a theology PhD, was originally identified as Satoshi in December 2015 following the publication by Wired and Gizmodo of supposedly leaked emails and documents purporting to prove Wright and a colleague, Dave Kleinman (now deceased), were the co-inventors of bitcoin. The source of the document leak was never identified.
Wright has never publicly confirmed or denied the allegations. Nor has he made any public statements or appearances since the story came out. To the contrary, most of Wright’s social media and web presence was deleted shortly after the story went public.
Adding to the intrigue, Wright’s Sydney home was raided by Australian federal police in connection to a Australian Tax Office investigation on the same day of the story’s release. It is understood, however, that Wright and his family had by then already upped and moved to London.
Now, after nearly four months of silence — and a bitcoin community mostly resigned to the notion that the story was an elaborate hoax — conditional approaches are being made to media and other institutions in connection to an upcoming “big reveal” of Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto.
The narrative being pitched is that on a pre-agreed date — ranging from April 7 to April 14 — Wright will publicly perform a cryptographic miracle which proves his identity once and for all. Those institutions being offered the inside scoop on his life story, meanwhile, are supposedly being asked by those claiming to be Wright’s legal representatives to abide by strict embargoes, timed to pre-empt the stage-managed revelations and the public press conference to follow.
The attempt at media management, however, echoes a familiar pattern.
The dossier of leaked emails used by Wired and Gizmodo as the source for their story was also heavily circulated to rival media outlets by anonymous parties weeks ahead of its ultimate publication.
Notable authority figures from the bitcoin community are alleged to have been impressed by the processes Wright is using to prove his identity and are standing ready to endorse Wright’s identity as Satoshi or are on the verge of doing so in the not to distant future.
One name referenced in that regard is Jon Matonis, a founding director of the Bitcoin Foundation. Asked for comment he told FT Alphaville: “I have been contacted by a private group and I am under a strict NDA [non-disclosure agreement] and press embargo during due diligence phase.”
With respect to the technical processes which Wright would have to perform to prove his identity, Bitcoin developer, Gavin Andresen, told FT Alphaville the following in an emailed statement over the weekend:
I’d want to see:
A message signed with the same PGP key Satoshi used back in 2010. (…but his computer could have been hacked)
A message signed with keys from early Bitcoin blocks (…but his wallet could have been stolen).
Email or private forum posts he sent to me in 2010 (… but email could have been hacked).
A conversation about technical stuff, ideally via email, so I can see if it feels like the same person I communicated with in 2010.
Irrespective of whether Wright convinces the bitcoin community he is or is not Satoshi, as long as a reasonable doubt exists in the minds of many his views could end up influencing matters in the current blocksize debate — a community schism over bitcoin’s development and scaling, a split now threatening the entire bitcoin system.
Will Craig Wright be the one to shepherd his flock to consensus and safety? Only the community can decide.
What we do know is that Wright’s self-cited credentials, as pulled from Linkedin before his profile was deleted, suggest an affinity with matters schismatic and biblical:
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