An Australian man previously identified as possibly being Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to be close to officially outing himself.

According to a report from The Financial Times Craig Steven Wright is preparing to officially make the announcement and that he is looking for backing in his verification from some of the industry’s biggest players.

44-year-old Wright, who is described as an academic and entrepreneur, was first named as Nakamoto in December by Wired on the basis of a number of blog posts Wright wrote prior to the launch of Bitcoin, and an unverified trove of emails and documentation.

Wright has never publicly confirmed or denied the allegation that he is Nakamoto to this point, and indeed his online presence disappeared following the publication of the story.

Following publication the story got weirder, with his house being raided by the Australian Federal Police as part of an investigation into tax avoidance by one of his companies, followed by the emergence of a legal dispute which involved the use of Bitcoin to buy gold.

According to court documents Wright is alleged to have attempted to purchase AU$84.25 million (US$60.7 million) worth of gold and software using Bitcoin based on advice from a dubious businessman by the name of Mark Ferrier, with the deal at some stage turning sour resulting in Wright suing Ferrier for the amount in the Australian Federal Court.

Further references to Bitcoin were also made, with documents stating that in May 2013 Wright claimed he could draw Bitcoin from one wallet to the value of AU$100 million (US$72 million),at a time the US/BTC rate was $120.72.

Who knows?

The evidence so far does point to Wright but he is one of a growing list of people to have been named as the elusive founder of Bitcoin.

What we do know for sure is that Wright, given his ample holdings, has been involved with Bitcoin since its early days, so even if he’s not Nakamoto, he may well know who is.

Who knows?

One day, possibly soon, we may actually find out.

Image credit: Soldierx.com