Liar, Liar?

The enigma behind the founder of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto continues. Only days after Australian entrepreneur and computer scientist Craig Wright came forward with the claim that he was the man behind the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, the mystery has further intensified now due to his unwillingness to honor the promise he made about procuring further proof to support his claim.

Craig Wright had originally declared his intention to move some of the virtual currency from one of its earliest address blocks, something bitcoin experts believe can only be done by the creator of Bitcoin. Had he actually done this, it would definitely have shut all the doubters. But, instead, in his latest blog post, he apologizes for lacking the courage to handle questions regarding his qualification and character.

“I believed that I could put years of anonymity and hiding behind me” “But, as the events of this week unfolded and I prepared to publish the proof of access to the earliest keys, I broke. I do not have the courage. I cannot. When the rumors began, my qualifications and character were attacked. When those allegations were proven false, new allegations have already begun. I know now that I am not strong enough for this.”

Wright had provided some evidence to BBC, Economist and GQ on May 2 by signing an encrypted message using a cryptographic key associated with the first ever Bitcoin transaction. There was plenty of skepticism as soon as he made the claim and people were saying that the evidence he had produced wasn’t enough to validate his claim. In response to this, he had promised to produce more evidence soon. But, now, he has backed out.

The Economist, one of the media outlets he had confessed his alleged identity to, had reported that the demonstration he had made in the name of evidence could have very well been “stage-managed” as he was using his own laptop and software for the demonstration. Furthermore his evidences were soon attacked by security experts who said that they could easily link the signature he had provided to an earlier Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin transaction, one that was still indexed by Search engines like Google. In response, Wright had claimed that he was the victim of “false allegations” and that he could provide further proof.

Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that is created and held electronically. [ Photo by George Frey / Getty Images ]

Wright’s claim was initially seen as being incredibly strong leading many to conclude that he was in fact the creator of Bitcoin. His claim was supported by two senior members of the Bitcoin Foundation, Gavin Andresen and Jon Matonis, whom Wright claimed to have shared other evidences with. Gavin Andresen and Jon Matonis have publicly endorsed Wright’s claims which is why Wright says he feels like he had betrayed them. He mentioned the two men in his blog post and apologized to them.

“I know that this weakness will cause great damage to those that have supported me, and particularly to Jon Matonis and Gavin Andresen. I can only hope that their honour and credibility is not irreparably tainted by my actions. They were not deceived, but I know that the world will never believe that now. I can only say I’m sorry.”

John Matonis has since taken to Twitter, claiming he still believes that Dr. Craig Wright is Satoshi.

There won’t be an on-chain signing from early bitcoin blocks, but there also won’t be another Satoshi. — Jon Matonis (@jonmatonis) May 5, 2016

This isn’t the first time someone has claimed or has falsely been linked to the now almost mythical Satoshi Nakamoto. It remains to be seen whether Craig Wright’s claims were just a cheap publicity stunt, or if he is in fact who he has originally claimed to be.

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