An Australian entrepreneur claimed on Monday to be the creator of the online currency Bitcoin. Within hours, the skepticism started.

Whether the truth is ultimately uncovered, the hunt for the founder’s identity is part of the new reality of the online age. A vast array of new tools and technologies make it ever easier to hide in the vast digital ocean that is the Internet — and all the more difficult to put a face to every screen name.

The identity debate is crucial for Bitcoin as those in the virtual currency community take sides over its direction. Some purists want to maintain Bitcoin’s outsider status, underscored by the mystique surrounding its founder. Others see an opportunity to expand Bitcoin into the commercial realm, making it more vulnerable to speculation and uncertainty.

Craig Steven Wright, the computer programmer who claimed in interviews with the BBC, The Economist and GQ to be the currency’s progenitor, said that he had come forward to quell the rumors. While Mr. Wright was first identified as Bitcoin’s founder in December 2015 by Wired magazine and the technology website Gizmodo, he remained silent then.