Australian Craig Wright is going to prove that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin
Various media outlets have received information that Craig Wright, an Australian programmer and entrepreneur suspected of being involved in the creation of the Bitcoin system, this week will present irrefutable evidence that he is really behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
One of the interesting features of Bitcoin cryptocurrency is the fact that the true identity of the creator (or group of creators hiding behind one pseudonym) is unknown to anyone. Once journalists have already attacked a man with that name and brought him a lot of trouble, but after that it turned out that he only bears the same name and has no relation to the world of cryptocurrency.
Undoubtedly, the intrigue with the absence of the author of the system fueled interest in cryptocurrency, and those who were interested constantly looked for candidates for the role of its author. In December 2015, another person was discovered who was recorded for this role: Craig Stephen Wright . A programmer, a specialist in cryptography, a lover of Japanese culture, he mentioned cryptocurrency in his blog back in 2008. There are some more indirect evidence of his involvement.
Surprise was the fact that the media received information about the forthcoming disclosure of the mystery, and that Wright allegedly was going to prove that he was behind the creation of a cryptocurrency that changed the digital world several years ago.
What evidence could be presented? Naturally, the first thing that comes to mind is to spend a little bit of those first stocks of bitcoins that were created at the very beginning of the system. Currently, the cost of a handful of bitcoins, distributed over 50 BTC at several addresses, is estimated at $ 400 million at the exchange rate.
But Jerry Brito, director of research firm Coin Center, may not be convinced. The real Nakamoto, says Jerry, must have the key to the Genesis Block, a special block from which you cannot spend coins. If the author signs with this key, as well as keys from other original blocks, a few messages, this may be irrefutable proof.
Another way to prove that you are Nakamoto is to use a key from a PGP server owned by Satoshi and working at MIT. One of Wright’s blog posts was signed with a key linked to satoshin@vistomail.com. But this key is different from the older one, which was connected to a slightly different address, satoshi@vistomail.com. On the other hand, PGP from Nakamoto has never been used to sign public information, so its use will actually prove very little.
Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen [Gavin Andresen], one of the few who communicated with Nakamoto before his disappearance in 2011, presented his list of requirements necessary for proof of identity:
- a message signed with the same key that Satoshi used in 2010 ( although the key could be stolen)
- messages signed by keys from early Bitcoin blocks (although they could have been stolen)
- message from email or from an account on the forum that he used in 2010 (although access to them can be hacked)
- correspondence regarding technical issues which would strongly resemble the man with whom Gavin spoke a few years ago.
However, Wright’s reputation was slightly tarnished by his previous statements, some of which turned out to be extremely controversial.. The emails and blogposts that flowed into the network seemed to prove his involvement - but then it turned out that some of them had falsified dates. It was not possible to confirm the existence of a degree that was allegedly obtained by Wright at the Charles Sturt University of Australia. Also, there are no Top-500 supercomputers that Wright allegedly owned.
If Wright manages to demonstrate possession of the secret keys held by Satoshi, it will prove one of two things: either he is Nakamoto, or at least he knows him, because he managed to hack his computer and steal the keys. In any case, this will be a greater achievement than any other cryptocurrency fans can boast of.