Calvin Ayre
Bodog founder and the main financial backer of the BSV camp: linked to Craig Wright from 2016, owner of CoinGeek, and controlling owner of nChain from 2023.
The wiki's angle: on S17 E39 Kurt Wuckert Jr., who works on the BSV side, still called Ayre “the most significant player… since the beginning”. Every account of the BSV split, friendly or hostile, runs through his money.[5][2]
Bodog
Wikipedia says Ayre launched the online gambling company Bodog in 2000, that its success made him a billionaire, and that he appeared on the cover of Forbes' 2006 billionaires issue[1]. It reports that he was indicted in Maryland in 2012 on illegal gambling charges and in 2017 pled guilty to a single misdemeanor, with the other charges dropped[1].
Craig Wright and BSV
Wikipedia says Andrew O'Hagan's June 2016 account named Ayre as part of the business operation behind Craig Wright's claim to be Satoshi and possibly as the financial backer of the $30 million acquisition of Wright's assets[1]. Ayre acquired CoinGeek in August 2017, briefly supported Bitcoin Cash and withdrew that support in 2018 because of protocol changes he opposed[1]. Bitcoin Takeover's BSV article says his CoinGeek pool and the media outlet of the same name backed Bitcoin SV in the 2018 split[2].
nChain and mining
Wikipedia says Ayre sold his Bitcoin mining operations to TAAL in 2020 and that the Ayre Group acquired a controlling interest in nChain in 2023[1]. Kurt Wuckert Jr. estimated on S17 E39 that Ayre has invested “hundreds of millions of dollars or something to that effect”[3]. On S17 E26 Steve Thurmond called Ayre Wright's financial backer, which is his characterisation[4].
References
- secondaryWikipedia, “Calvin Ayre” [archived]
- btkBitcoin SV: Big Blocks All the Way (BTCTKVR: Forks!) [archived]
- episodeS17 E39: Kurt Wuckert Jr. on Calvin's investment and nChain's headcount▶ listen at 1:30:56timestamp transcript-derived, pending a listen [archived]
- episodeS17 E26: Steve Thurmond on Calvin Ayre's financial backing of Craig Wright▶ listen at 53:36timestamp transcript-derived, pending a listen [archived]
- episodeS17 E39: Kurt Wuckert Jr. on Calvin Ayre as BSV's most significant player▶ listen at 1:29:14timestamp transcript-derived, pending a listen [archived]