Craig Wright can be considered a controversial figure in the crypto arena. Wright has consistently claimed that he’s Satoshi Nakamoto, the alleged creator of bitcoin, though these claims have often been scoffed at and met with disbelief. Now, Wright is suing to ensure people know his name.
Wright Heading to Court?
Many of us likely remember a convention held last year that many crypto industry leaders attended or spoke at. One of those speakers was Craig Wright, who was ultimately interrupted by Vitalik Buterin, the co-creator of Ethereum. Buterin, who had been sitting in the audience, stood up and asked why Wright, a “fraud,” was being allowed to speak at the conference.
Apparently, this didn’t go over well with Wright, who now says he’s planning to sue Buterin and all those who have doubted his claims for defamation. He stated to Bloomberg recently:
This will give me the chance to prove my credentials in front of a judge, rather than being judged by Twitter.
The trouble is that Wright is doubted by some of the biggest names in crypto. One of those names is John McAfee, and while McAfee has experienced his fair share of controversy over the past years, particularly with his recent announcement to run for president, all statements must be considered as part of the case at hand.
McAfee claims he knows the real Satoshi Nakamoto, and he says it’s not Wright. He states:
I am going to tell the truth no matter what the consequences are. I’ve been sued over 200 times in my life. I am not afraid of getting sued.
However, others are quite sure of Wright’s statements and say that he is responsible for the creation of bitcoin. One of those individuals is John Matonis, the founding director of the Bitcoin Foundation. In a recent blog post, Matonis says he sat down with Wright, who gave him a “private demonstration” of a signature allegedly used by Nakamoto. Matonis then writes:
The proof is conclusive, and I have no doubt that Craig Steven Wright is the person behind the Bitcoin technology.
Many Still Don’t Believe
Sadly, this only spread more doubt throughout the crypto space. One such doubter is Peter Todd, a bitcoin key developer. Upon reading the news of the signature, he took to Vice’s Motherboard and wrote:
It would be like if I was trying to prove that I was George Washington and to do that, provided a photocopy of the Constitution and said, ‘Look, I have George Washington’s signature.’
It is alleged that the creator of bitcoin owns about $9 billion in the currency, much of which has never been moved. Many critics have asked Wright to shift some of these coins to other accounts as a means of proving his claims, though Wright has refused many times.
