Australian entrepreneur and computer scientist Craig White claims he is the creator of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
The claim follows years of speculation over the identity of the system’s mastermind, with the creator formerly known under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
However, some users in the Bitcoin community remain skeptical of the admission and have called on him to go further in proving his identify.
“Some people will believe, and some people won’t. And to tell you the truth, I don’t really care. I was the main part of it, but other people helped me,” Wright told BBC News.
Shortly after the admission, Gavin Andresen, chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation, wrote a blog saying he was sure Wright was who he claimed to be.
“I believe Craig Steven Wright is the person who invented Bitcoin,” he wrote.
Jon Matonis, an economist and one of the founding directors of the Bitcoin Foundation, also backed up Wright’s claim.
“During the London proof sessions, I had the opportunity to review the relevant data along three distinct lines: cryptographic, social, and technical,” he said. “It is my firm belief that Craig Wright satisfies all three categories.”
Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to own roughly one million Bitcoins which, if converted to cash, would give him an estimated net worth of about $450 million.
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at ben@yiannopoulos.net