I have in the past avoided making any definitive statements about the #craigissatoshi issue. I didn't feel it was for me to decide what assertions where made publicly and when.

But now that he has made his choice and spoken publicly I will say these few words on the matter...

Firstly though let me say that I never thought it should matter. I made the choice to work with Craig without knowing the answer to the big question. I made the choice simply because what Craig had taught me and how he did it made sense. Because despite his infuriatingly opaque way of explaining things, time and time again I made the effort to see what he was trying to say and when I finally did he was always (w)right. And in time I worked out that his way of explaining things was forcing me to think for myself rather than having information served to me on a platter. This was a man that not only understood Bitcoin at a depth I'd never imagined but also a man that cared about building up my capability to think outside the box.

So down to the point...

I have seen so much evidence that #craigissatoshi that it is a no brainer to me. It is not something I believe it is something I know as an iron-clad and indisputable fact. So much so that when I was offered the opportunity to see a private cryptographic proof, without even thinking I said "No, I don't need to see it" and the conversation ended there.

I went away and thought more about it. Of course part of me wanted to see it, there are countless people that do. But something felt wrong about it and I needed to work out why. In time I did and I resolved that I don't ever want to see it. My resolve on that point was tested once when I once walked into a room where he unexpectedly had a private key on his screen and called me over with a cheeky grin and a glint in his eye. I don't know what his intention actually was, I never asked. I just said "Craig I told you I don't want to see that" then I turned around and marched straight out of that room.

And the reason is simply this... At the end of the day Craig is Craig and his actions and his achievements speak for themselves. What he and his family have suffered at the hands of others is something that would crush almost any human on this planet. He came close a few times but he never broke. And he never broke because his life's work was too important to allow himself that indulgence. That is a man I can respect. That is a man I can defer to. That is a man who's intentions I can trust even when I feel like we are hurtling down the wrong path. Time and time his path has gotten us to right destination.

I never told Craig why I walked away that day. I guess now he'll know...

Craig doesn't need to be associated with the mythology of Satoshi for me to trust in his capability, his vision and his raw determination to bring Bitcoin to the world. Refusing to see the proof is my small way of making that statement of trust through definitive action and by refusing to indulge that baser part of me that wants to give in to morbid curiosity. Craig Wright has sacrificed so much more than a mere indulgence to bring Bitcoin to the world and I can never hope to match that. But I can at least give him my trust. It is the very very least I can do.

This is my personal attestation, for what it's worth. I will not share the evidence I have seen. That is also for him to decide when and if to make public. It is his story and it is for him to tell.

So yes I've not just believed, but known for a long time that #craigissatoshi but I never wanted it to matter. I just wanted to let him be Craig. Because I feel that requiring him to be Satoshi is to gloss over what he has done as Craig. Craig to me is even more than the myth. He is a man that has sacrificed enormously just to make the world a better place to live in.

Satoshi Nakamoto inspired me like he did so many others but he was never a friend or mentor to me.