The creator of bitcoin may be an Australian finance geek named Craig Steven Wright, according to a new report by Wired's Andy Greenberg.
Or it could be Wright and his close friend Dave Kleiman, who died two years ago, according toGizmodo.
Or Wright could be a man who really wants to take credit for it.
In 2009, someone — or some people — using the name Satoshi Nakamoto invented bitcoin, a type of digital currency that uses cryptography to move money and records it in a ledger without the need of a bank. The cryptocurrency was once an obsession among finance geeks, but emerged into more of a mainstream economic obsession. A bitcoin startup even sponsored the Bitcoin Bowl, a college-football bowl game, last year.
Finding the creator of it has been an obsession among bitcoin enthusiasts and journalists alike. In March 2014, Newsweek published a cover story allegingthat Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, a man living in Southern California who denies having heard of the cryptocurrency, was its mysterious creator.
But Greenberg may have the most compelling evidence so far that points to the Australian genius:
  • Posts from Wright's blog hint at writing papers about a cryptocurrency, although Wired admits these could have been planted by Wright himself to make himself seem like the creator.
  • Wright owns two supercomputers, including the most powerful privately owned supercomputer. These aren't on corporate campuses, but wired to his home in Australia.
  • According to leaked documents, Kleiman had a trust containing the same number of bitcoins that Nakamoto is rumored to own. When he died, that trust was passed to Wright. Those bitcoins, at bitcoin's price peak, were worth more than a billion.