This is a name you have surely heard more than once. The alleged, or rather self-proclaimed, Satoshi Nakamoto – that’s who. The mysterious inventor of Bitcoin in the form of Craig Wright. Is it even possible? Why is this Australian computer scientist so famous in the cryptocurrency sector?
Let’s check it out! In today’s lesson, we’ll have a look at this fascinating individual.
Craig Wright – Beginnings
Our protagonist of today’s story, Craig Wright, was born in Australia in 1970. He completed his high school education in Brisbane in 1987 and claims to have obtained various academic degrees and certificates. Some of his notable achievements include:
- Master’s Degree in Finance from the University of London – SOAS.
- Degree in Statistics from the University of Newcastle, Australia.
- Expertise in Information Security Systems, Network and Systems Administration, and IT Management from Charles Sturt University.
- Degree in Law from the University of Northumbria.
- Engineering credentials from the Sans Technology Institute.
- Studies in Political Science from Liberty University.
According to the man himself, he claims to have even earned the following doctorate degrees: a Doctorate in Business Administration from Grand Canyon University, and a Doctorate in Theology from United Theological College.
Many people accuse Wright of lying about his education and achievements. This is because he has never shown his certificates or papers. What’s more, in 2015, Sturt University in Australia sent out a public statement that Mr. Wright had never earned a doctorate at their university.
Mr. Wright’s Achievements
These claims should also be approached with scepticism, as they may sound impressive and captivating but lack substantial corroboration. In addition to Bitcoin, Craig Wright has reportedly conducted more than 1,200 IT security-related assignments for over 120 Australian and international organizations in the private and government sectors. He has held senior management positions, he says, particularly in companies that dealt with digital assets. Moreover, he served as vice president of the Center for Strategic Cybersecurity and Security Science.
Similarly, he was involved in technology systems that protected the Australian Stock Exchange. He was a trainer for Australian government and corporate departments. He specialized in SCADA security, cyber warfare, and cyber defence. Furthermore, he claimed to have played a role in designing the complete architecture of Lasseter’s Online, which is recognized as the world’s first online casino in Australia.
Craig Wright vs. Bitcoin vs. Cryptocurrencies
The topic everyone has been waiting for: It all started with two magazines, Wired and Gizmodo. They were the first to publish articles that strongly suggested that Wright was the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto.
Craig Wright himself took up the narrative and published a post on his website, confirming that he is indeed the elusive creator of Bitcoin. He substantiated his claim by presenting a variety of evidence, including collections of documents from his cache and personal emails forwarded to editors and his acquaintances.
According to Wright, he was the one involved in creating the flagship cryptocurrency, which he did in collaboration with his friend, the late Dave Kleiman. Kleiman was a computer security expert.
Craig’s post caused a significant stir within the cryptocurrency sector, sparking both scepticism and intrigue. While some supported his claim, others ridiculed it. Now, let us delve into the available evidence and conduct an analysis to determine whether Craig is truly the mysterious creator of Bitcoin.
Wright Is Satoshi – The Arguments “In Favour”
- Wright used the same e-mail address as Satoshi. Especially for communications. Gizdmo magazine published Craig’s emails, which he sent to political figures and government agencies, and regarded Bitcoin. As we can read in these messages, he calls for the possibility of resurrecting Satoshi Nakamoto.
- The second argument “in favour” would be a post on his blog. The entry was to announce the launch of Bitcoin on January 10, 2009. The publication was titled “The beta of Bitcoin is live tomorrow”. Unfortunately, it was removed shortly after publication.
- Further proof is Wright’s claim that he has been managing BTC since 2009. These words were reportedly uttered during his conversation with tax lawyers.
- Craig’s business interests were strikingly similar to those necessary for a cryptocurrency mining operation. His company, Tulip Trading, has control over more than 1.1 million BTC, which is believed to be owned by Nakamoto. However, the coins were reportedly subject to transfer restrictions until 2020, as outlined in the late Dave Kleiman’s will.
- Like Nakamoto, Craig shared a streak of anti-authoritarianism. He was subscribed to the cypherpunk mailing list, which aimed to refine and advance a standard for cryptocurrencies.
- Another argument, but one that we think is a major stretch, is that Craig is a libertarian. His philosophy is to return to the gold standard and Japanese culture.
Arguments “Against”
And this is where things start to get even more interesting! According to cryptographic experts, to confirm his claims, Craig was supposed to perform two tasks.
The first argument “against” involves signing a message using Nakamoto’s private key. This entails cryptographically signing the message using the same keys that Satoshi Nakamoto used. So, what did Wright do in this regard?
To further substantiate his claims, he met with Gavin Anders in 2016. During the meeting, he signed a message that read, “Gavin’s favourite number is eleven”. For the signature, he used his initials and a private key from one of the first 50 BTC blocks ever mined.
Our alleged Satoshi signed the message on his own laptop and transferred it to a new computer. He used a USB flash drive, belonging to Andersen, to do so. The signature itself was verified by Bitcoin Electrum. Andersen was full of admiration, and the next day even announced that Craig was the missing Satoshi. Unfortunately, the story has no happy ending. Soon after, it was revealed that Craig had most likely tricked Andersen. Security researchers, including Dan Kaminsky discovered that the key with which Wright signed the message extracted transaction data from 2009. This included Satoshi’s publicly available signature from part of the blockchain.
Craig’s house of cards began to slowly fall apart. Critics started to analyse other proofs. According to them, his claims were insufficient. One of the pivotal pieces of evidence was the discovery concerning Wright’s PGP keys. These keys, created in 2009, could be traced back to Nakamoto’s email address. However, it was subsequently revealed that PGP keys could be archived and configured in a manner that they could be associated with any email address.
Another piece of evidence against Wright includes false academic qualifications and falsehoods about his company’s partnerships. According to his claims, his company, Cloudcroft, was supposed to have formed a partnership with Silicon Graphic International (SGI). However, SGI denied these reports, stating that they had no information regarding the supercomputer allegedly being developed by Craig.
Furthermore, in 2021, Craig found himself embroiled in a court case. He was sued by his former business partner, who accused Wright of intellectual property theft, fraud, theft, and breach of fiduciary duty. A jury found him guilty on these charges. As a result, the would-be Nakamoto was ordered to pay $100 million in damages.
Summary
The multitude of arguments against Wright has not deterred him from persisting in his claim to be Nakamoto. He is gradually venturing into extreme measures in his pursuit to prove his authorship of Bitcoin. Wright has even asserted that the “true” BTC today is a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash, commonly referred to as Satoshi’s Vision.
Of course, we understand that Wright was an early user of this flagship cryptocurrency. However, nothing supports the fact that he created it.
Is it a genuine quest for recognition, or a case of mythomania driving Wright’s relentless pursuit of instant fame?