- Details
Published on: https://nativenewsonline.net/
Image source: https://www.vecteezy.com/photo/29284680-back-of-anonymous-robot-hacker-concept-of-hacking-cybersecurity-cybercrime-cyberattack-etc-ai-generative
There’s always something interesting happening in the crypto space, at any given time, and the past few months stand as proof in this respect. From the fake and then official approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade and Bitcoin’s rally leading to record-breaking figures, the first half of the year has provided us with plenty of noteworthy events, and the roller-coaster continues.
While analysts are busy making predictions about crypto’s future, traders and investors are doing their best to devise strategies and assess the viability of buying Bitcoin by tracking the BTC price USD on exchange platforms or adding different cryptos to their portfolios. In a different corner of the crypto universe, other matters seem to take center stage, namely uncovering the real identity of the long-lost Bitcoin inventor.seem to take center stage, namely uncovering the real identity of the long-lost Bitcoin inventor.
The ambiguity surrounding Bitcoin’s founding father has led to multiple theories and rumors about who might be hiding behind the pseudonym, and many investigations have been carried out in this respect. One of these investigations having Craig Wright as a subject has come to an end, putting to rest years of debate and speculation.
After a six-week trial, the UK High Court has ruled that the Australian computer scientist is not Satoshi Nakamoto, as he has been claiming for the past eight years. The court’s verdict might not bring us closer to finding out who Satoshi really is, but at least it provides us with some clarity and certainty in a sea of doubt and deceit.
The mysterious disappearance of Satoshi Nakamoto
The life and disappearance of Satoshi Nakamoto remain to this day one of the greatest mysteries of the crypto world. The first time people heard of this now-resounding name was in 2008 when Satoshi published the whitepaper titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. The document outlined Satoshi’s vision and laid the foundation for what would later become the biggest and most popular digital currency in the world, with a total market cap of $1,268B at the time of writing.
For the following two years, Satoshi was fairly active on crypto forums, posting messages and interacting with other developers and members of the crypto community via email. The last time Satoshi was active on a public forum was in December 2010 when he wrote a simple sentence stating there is more work to do on DoS. However, a later email sent to Mike Hern in 2011 surfaced where Satoshi announced they had moved on to other things. No one has heard from them ever since.
Satoshi has all but vanished, leaving a trail of unanswered questions in their wake. Why did they decide to step down all of a sudden? Why have they remained silent during all the events that marked Bitcoin’s evolution? What did they hope to achieve and what is their opinion on the current state of the crypto industry? These are just some of the unsolved dilemmas promoted by Satoshi’s strange departure from the crypto scene.
13 years have gone by and we still have no clue who invented Bitcoin, or whether Satoshi Nakamoto is a person or a group of people who worked together to develop this groundbreaking project that has revolutionized the world of finance. Several individuals have either been suspected or have come forward claiming to be the mastermind behind Bitcoin’s creation. However, there isn’t sufficient evidence to prove that any of the candidates could be Satoshi. All we have is a mysterious figure which has come to gain almost mythical proportions over the years and continues to capture people’s imagination and fascination.
Who is Craig Wright?
Usually, those who have been linked to Satoshi Nakamoto’s real identity have either denied the claim or chose not to respond, but that’s not Craig Wright’s case. If anything, the IT expert tried through all possible means to prove that he is in fact the person who played the central role in the creation of Bitcoin.
Wright has several academic degrees in various fields, including a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Charles Sturt University (CSU) where he also worked as an adjunct academic and researcher. His professional achievements include working in information technology for major companies such as OzEmail, K-Mart and the Australian Securities Exchange, as well as being the CEO of the technology firm Hotwire Preemptive Intelligence Group and the founder of cryptocurrency company DeMorgan Ltd.
As you can see, Craig Wright has been and is a lot of things but he’s not Satoshi Nakamoto, at least not according to Judge James Mellor's ruling. Following the six-week trial, Judge Meller concluded there was overwhelming evidence attesting that Craig Wright did not pen the Bitcoin whitepaper or worked on building the Bitcoin network, nor is he the person who hid behind the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym between 2008 and 2011.
The case was brought to court by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit organization concerned with encouraging growth in crypto. COPA sued Wright in 2021 after years in which the computer scientist used his Satoshi claim to take legal action against several developers and other parties, stating they had violated his intellectual property rights. The court’s recent decision will lead to the dismissal of Wright’s other lawsuits based on copyright infringement accusations, preventing him from continuing his campaign to be recognized as Bitcoin’s inventor.
Another myth debunked, many more to go
Now that we know Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, we can move on to other things, just like Satoshi did. The crypto space brims with mysteries, misconceptions and conspiracy theories which, as interesting and captivating as they might be, do more harm than good to crypto’s already fragile reputation by spreading misinformation and creating false narratives around this nascent asset class. For anyone looking to trade or invest in crypto, getting educated and learning to discern facts from fiction should become a priority.