S5 E10: Arthur van Pelt on Craig Wright

For at least two years, Arthur van Pelt has been paying close attention to the activity of Craig Wright. Ever since the self-proclaimed “Bit Coin” creator has started suing community members who contested his status, van Pelt has taken upon himself to shine a light on the numerous cases of shady evidence that Wright provided.

Some would go as far as saying that Arthur van Pelt is obsessed with Craig Wright and has a personal agenda. After all, his daily tweets about Wright’s life and activity in court do require hours of research and intensive reading. But if you ask van Pelt, he will say that he only does a community service by trying to salvage the reputations of those whom Wright has harmed: from Hal Finney to Adam Back and Hodlonaut, there are dozens of lives that have been irreversibly affected by lawsuits, threats, and perpetual slandering.

To support his cause, Arthur van Pelt has created the “#Faketoshi Fraud Timeline“: a website where he regularly publishes information that he collects from court data, testimonies, and individual investigations. His aim appears to be that of fact-checking statements that Craig Wright has made in court, private e-mails, blog posts, and social media interactions.

In the Bitcoin Takeover Season 5 finale, we talk about Craig Wright’s early days (convincing Gavin Andresen that he is Satoshi, debating Nick Szabo during Bitcoin Belle’s panel, and feeling reluctant to play the role of Satoshi), his evolution throughout the years, and the considerations that may exist behind his lawsuits.

Inevitably, some conspiracy theories get discussed: Is Craig Wright a government contractor who is trying to discredit Bitcoin and destroy it from within? Or is Craig Wright actually paid by the real Satoshi Nakamoto to put an end to the relevance of who the creator of Bitcoin may be?

At the end of our 155-minute discussion, Arthur van Pelt and I agree that the Bitcoin community should always be honest and phase out bad actors with facts and thorough research. While it’s better for bad actors to receive less media coverage, it’s also useful to balance their claims with facts. This anti-sensationalist middle ground may look less glamorous than scoring clickbaity website hits, but it’s also better in the long run.

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