Timeline

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A chronological overview of Craig Steven Wright’s documented career, public claims, and key events.

1990s: Early Career

1996

Sep–Nov: Posts approximately 15 messages on the Cypherpunks mailing list (cypherpunks@toad.com) using email craigsw@ozemail.com.au. Topics include “Political Risk v. Charity” and “Snare, any info.” Signs as “Network Admin For WPA Business Products” with personal site pip.com.au/~doshai/.
Begins working at OzEmail (Australian ISP), managing engineers.

1997–1998

Apr 1997 – May 1998: Holds Information Security position at the Australian Stock Exchange.

1998–1999

Claims to have designed architecture for Lasseter’s Online casino (Alice Springs, Northern Territory), implementing real-time transaction logging and audit systems. The casino goes online in 1999 as the first government-licensed online gaming venture.

2000s: IT Security & Academic Career

2003

Awarded Doctor of Theology (ThD) from United Theological College. Dissertation: “Gnarled roots of a creation theory.”
Meets Dave Kleiman in cryptography forums. The two interact regularly from this point onward.
Awarded ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), June 17.

2004–2005

IASCA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) Member from November 2004.
GIAC ISO-17799 Specialist certification, April 30, 2005.
Becomes world’s first GIAC Compliance and Audits certification holder.
Publishes first SANS Reading Room paper: “Implementing an Information Security Management System (ISMS) Training process” (Sep 3, 2005).

2006

SANS papers: “Electronic Contracting, New Wine in Old Bottles” (Jan 9) and “A Quantitative Time Series Analysis of Malware and Vulnerability Trends” (Oct 1).

2007

Begins serving as SANS Mentor and Stay Sharp Instructor.
SANS paper: “Requirements for Record Keeping and Document Destruction in a Digital World” (October).

2008

Jan 30: SANS paper: “Trusting electronically signed documents.”
Apr: SANS paper: “Internet Intermediary Liability.”
Aug: Blog post on gse-compliance.blogspot.com mentions plans to publish a “cryptocurrency paper” and discusses “triple entry accounting” – two months before Bitcoin’s whitepaper.
Sep 13 – Oct 5: No blog activity. Returns from the US.
Oct 3: Awarded GSE-Malware certification (1 of 4 worldwide at the time).
Oct 5: Blog post about passing GSE-Malware exam – three days after the Bitcoin whitepaper is posted to the cryptography mailing list (Oct 31).
Nov: Blog post mentions a PGP key.
Publishes book: The IT Regulatory and Standards Compliance Handbook (ISBN: 9781597492669).

2009–2010

Blog (gse-compliance.blogspot.com) is notably inactive during this period, when Satoshi Nakamoto was actively developing and promoting Bitcoin.
A blog post purportedly from January 10, 2009, titled “Bitcoin Beta,” was later found to have been backdated – the post only exists in archives from 2014 onward.

2010s: Bitcoin Claims & Controversy

2011

Jul 26: Joins The Conversation as Adjunct Lecturer at Charles Sturt University. Publishes 5 articles and 112 comments.
Jul 28: First verified BitcoinTalk post.
Jul–Aug: First genuine, untampered public references to Bitcoin. Notably misspells it as “Bit Coin” (two words) and lists it last among PayPal alternatives. Criticizes WikiLeaks for “stupidity in selecting PayPal as a provider over BitCoin” – contradicting Satoshi’s December 2010 opposition to WikiLeaks using Bitcoin.
Writing voice described as “pro-capitalist, anti-hacktivist and pro-corporate,” contrasting with Satoshi’s patient, respectful tone.

2011–2014

Serves as Adjunct Academic and Researcher at Charles Sturt University.
Completes doctoral thesis: “The Quantification of Information Systems Risk” (2014, PhD conferred 2017).
Operates numerous Australian companies including DeMorgan, Hotwire Preemptive Intelligence, Panopticrypt, and Cloudcroft.
Cloudcroft claims ownership of supercomputers, including one allegedly from SGI. SGI publicly denies any relationship with Cloudcroft or Wright.
Plans to launch Denariuz Bank (world’s first bitcoin-based bank) through Hotwire PE; fails in 2014 due to Australian Tax Office regulatory issues.

2015

DeMorgan Limited claims AU$54 million in tax incentives via AusIndustry.
Dec 8–9: Wired and Gizmodo simultaneously publish investigations identifying Wright as potential Satoshi Nakamoto, based on leaked documents, blogs, and emails.
Within 24 hours: Wired updates article identifying “inconsistencies in the evidence.”
Hours after publication: Australian Federal Police raid Wright’s home (Gordon, NSW) and business premises (Ryde) as part of ATO investigation.
Wright resigns as director from 12 companies in one week.

2016

May 2: Publishes blog post with cryptographic signature claiming to be Satoshi. Gives BBC interview promising “extraordinary proof.”
Gavin Andresen (Bitcoin’s lead developer after Satoshi) states he is “convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Security researchers Dan Kaminsky and Jeff Garzik expose the proof as a reused 2009 transaction signature, not new cryptographic proof.
Wright asks BBC journalists to send bitcoin to Satoshi’s address; later publishes blog post: “I do not have the courage” to provide the proof.
May: Cryptographic community on Metzdowd mailing list expresses deep skepticism.
GSE certification expires (not renewed).

2017

Medium accounts created: @ProfFaustus, @adam_selene.
PhD in Computer Science officially conferred by Charles Sturt University.
Publishes academic papers: “Bitcoin: A Total Turing Machine,” “A Proof of Turing Completeness in Bitcoin Script.”
Later investigation finds at least 30 pages of plagiarism in PhD thesis, including almost entirety of Chapter 6.

2018

Creates Medium account @craig_10243 (posts as “Craig Wright (Bitcoin SV is Bitcoin.)”).
Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit filed by Ira Kleiman (brother of deceased Dave Kleiman), seeking half of claimed 1.1 million Bitcoin plus IP.
Bitcoin SV (BSV) created as hard fork of Bitcoin Cash, with Wright as driving force. Block size increased to 128 MB.
Regular keynote speaker at CoinGeek Conferences (London, New York, Seoul).

2019

craigwright.net blog becomes active.
Apr 11: Registers US Copyright for Bitcoin whitepaper (TXu 2-136-996) and Bitcoin code. Copyright Office clarifies registration is ministerial – does not verify authorship.
May 21: Copyright registration made public, sparking fierce debate. Crypto industry figures label Wright “Faketoshi.”
Wikipedia editing disputes erupt following copyright claims.
Publishes book: Satoshi’s Vision: The Art of Bitcoin (with Paul Democritou).
Develops nChain patent portfolio: ~3,900 patents/applications across 46 jurisdictions.

2020s: Legal Defeats & Exposure

2020

May 21: List of Bitcoin addresses Wright claimed as his (Tulip Trust) inadvertently made public in Kleiman case. 145 addresses immediately sign a public message: “Craig Steven Wright is a liar and a fraud.” This provides cryptographic proof Wright does not control these addresses.
BitMEX Research confirms the addresses were not even associated with Satoshi.

2021

Dec: Kleiman v. Wright verdict – jury awards $100 million damages to W&K Info Defense Research LLC.

2022

Wright v. Granath/“Hodlonaut” trial in Norway – Wright loses.
IEEE conference appearances (Future Networks World Forum, Global IoT Summit).

2023

Keynotes at London Blockchain Conference.
Calvin Ayre commissions documentary film on Wright.

2024

Mar 14: After five-week trial, Justice Mellor rules in COPA v. Wright that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto. Judgment states Wright “lied to the court repeatedly and extensively” and engaged in forgery “on a grand scale.”
Technical evidence: PGP keys Wright claimed were created in January 2008 used cryptographic ciphers not available until July 2009. Researcher Gwern Branwen proved PGP key was retroactively inserted into Wright’s blog after 2013.
Jul: Court-ordered notice placed on craigwright.net.
Sep: Deactivates @Dr_CSWright Twitter account; moves to @CsTominaga.
Dec: Receives 12-month suspended sentence for contempt of court.
Publishes book: The Weight of What Remains (ISBN: 9798303867215).
Wright referred for criminal prosecution for forgery.

This timeline is based on publicly available sources including court documents, archived web content, academic records, and investigative journalism. See Sources for full references.

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