An Australian professor has publicly identified himself as the creator of digital cash system Bitcoin, after years of speculation about the identity of the founder previously known only by the online pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

Entrepreneur and academic Craig Wright has provided technical proof to back up his claim using coins known to be owned by Bitcoin's creator, after revealing his identity to several media organisations.

During an interview with the BBC, Mr Wright digitally signed messages using cryptographic keys created during the early days of Bitcoin's development.

The online currency that Mr Wright said he anonymously created in 2009 is now worth about £4.7bn.

After starting out on the frontiers of the internet and gaining notoriety as the currency of the illicit marketplace Silk Road, Bitcoin and the blockchain technology on which it sits are now gaining traction throughout the financial world as a transparent way to transfer and trace ownership of everything from homes to organic crops.

“I have not done this because it is what I want,” Mr Wright told the BBC about his announcement. “I really do not want to be the public face of anything.”