Craig Wright Claims to Have Destroyed Hard Drive With Satoshi Wallet Keys

For years, Australian computer scientist – Craig Wright – has claimed that he is the mythical figure who created Bitcoin. But according to the crypto community,  the truth cannot be further away. The man’s credibility has taken yet another hit amid the latest lawsuit with his involvement.

It cannot get more bizarre than this.

Lack of Evidence, Yet Again

Wright first gained notoriety in 2015 after an anonymous tip led to parallel investigations by several media outlets deeming him Satoshi. However, several other investigations found that the “flimsy evidence” put forward in the name of proof was highly insufficient. Wright went on a press tour the following year, wherein he claimed to be the Bitcoin founder himself.

After countless failed attempts, he is no longer trying to prove he is Satoshi with cryptography. Instead, Wright claims to have destroyed his only proof after he “stomped on the hard drive” containing “key slices” required to access Satoshi Nakamoto’s private keys, according to his statement at a Norwegian court, thereby making it incredibly difficult to prove his claim “cryptographically.”

The Australian computer scientist has, so far, been unable to defend his assertion, and it is currently the issue at the center of his trial in Norway. Simultaneously, Wright is also engaged in a legal tussle against crypto Twitter personality Hodlonaut over a series of tweets that the latter made deeming Wright a “scammer” and a “fraud.”

When Hodlonaut’s lawyer, Ørjan Haukaas, proceeded to ask if had deliberately destroyed the hard drive, Wright responded,

“I didn’t want to encourage the arguments that you need keys. Yes, you could say this is a risk, but I think it’s the most important thing I’ve done in my life.”

Flimsy Evidence

Signing with the private keys is not something Wright aims to do to prove his claim. As per his statement at the court, he wants to try the “traditional way” instead and plans on using self-claimed “academic achievements,” career history, patents, and relationships with “100 people,” including American software developer Gavin Andresen who also worked as a chief scientist and core developer at the Bitcoin Foundation.

Andresen is one of the earliest known figures to have corresponded with Satoshi Nakamoto via emails. Years after stating that he fully believed that Wright was Nakamoto, Andresen disputed the claims in their meeting at a “private proving session” in London.

He had earlier explained leaving the meeting convinced that Wright is the same Nakamoto who unveiled Bitcoin but later said he believes to have never again communicated with the erstwhile founder and disputed his previous assertions.