Hours after Wired and Gizmodo identified Craig Steven Wright as the "founder" of Bitcoin, The Guardian reports his house has been subject to a police raid. Despite the seemingly well-evidenced reports identifying the Australian entrepreneur and academic as the man behind Bitcoin, it is still unclear whether the claims are true.
Following the raid, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) quickly released a statement saying their, "presence at Mr. Wright"s property is not associated with the media reporting overnight about bitcoins".
Instead, the raid is believed to part of an ongoing investigation by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). More than 10 AFP officers took part in the raid, with Reuters saying Wright"s office was also raided. Little is known about what was seized in the raid. An uncollected rubbish bin and full letterbox suggests Wright has not been at the house for a few days.
Wright is alleged to be the man behind the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto", supposedly the creator of Bitcoin. Gizmodo reported a transcript of an interview between the ATO and Wright where he admited being Bitcoin"s founder.
“I did my best to try and hide the fact that I’ve been running bitcoin since 2009 but I think it’s getting – most – most – by the end of this half the world is going to bloody know.”
Further, a hacked email account belonging to the pseudonym, under the email address "satoshi@vistomail.com" reveals several emails where Wright allegedly admits to creating the digital currency. One email includes:
“I have been working on a new form of electronic money. Bit cash, bit coin …”
It is important to note that neither the transcript nor any of the emails have been independently verified.
Last year, Newsweek identified 64-year-old Californian engineer "Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto" as the founder of Bitcoin. The man quickly rebutted the claim, threatening legal action.
Wright and the ATO have not commented about the allegations or the raid.
Source: The Guardian |Image via The Guardian