Craig Wright: Why the Man Who Claims to Be Bitcoin's Founder Stepped Forward Now

— -- Australian computer scientist and businessman Craig Steven Wright stepped forward today as the inventor of bitcoin.

Wright, 45, wrote in a blog that he launched today, "I have been silent, but I have not been absent. I have been engaged with an exceptional group and look forward to sharing our remarkable work when they are ready."

He's worked at the Australian Stock Exchange, Sydney IT company Corporate Express and studied with various academic institutions, according to the biography on his website. He studied engineering and computer science at the University of Queensland, received a Masters in Statistics from the University of Newcastle and a Masters in Law from Northumbria University. He also has a doctorate in theology and submitted a thesis for a second doctorate in computer science.

There are about 15.5 million bitcoins in circulation, without banks or formal regulatory authorities. If Wright is the inventor, he may have amassed as much as one million bitcoins, which would be worth about $450 million in cash, the BBC reported.

Various media outlets had tried to identify the person behind the digital currency inventor's pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. In December, Wired and Gizmodo revealed Wright's identity based on leaked emails and financial records, though Wright declined to comment at the time.

"His identity had become undeniable," Robert Siciliano, an online security expert, told ABC News. "It seems the pressure to reveal stems from legal issue revolving around taxation and numerous publications who've determined his identity through extensive research."

"The fact is, now that he has been identified, this will, more than likely, even further increase the speed of Bitcoin's adoption into the mainstream for public consumption," Siciliano said.

Wright said the pseudonym was an homage to Tominaga Nakamoto, a 17th-century Japanese philosopher, merchant and advocate of free trade, The Guardian reported.

“Satoshi is dead. But this is only the beginning," Wright wrote on his blog today.

A spokesman for Wright told ABC News that the computer scientist declined to comment.

"Wright had used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto as a way to protect his own identity and on this historic day, he puts the Nakamoto myth to rest," according to a statement issued by public relations firm The Outside Organisation, based in London.

The statement explains the launch of the blog following his "vision to create a forum about bitcoin, which dispels myths and helps unleash its full potential."

"Wright’s decision to go public follows a series of misleading statements that are circulating and which he seeks to set straight and in doing so will allow him to further develop his society changing work and research," the statements reads. "His mission is to educate the world about the science and economics behind his inventions and show the remarkable potential bitcoin and the blockchain have."

“I firmly believe that Bitcoin and the Blockchain can change the world for the better," Wright said in a statement. "I didn’t take the decision lightly to make my identity public and I want to be clear that I’m doing this because I care so passionately about my work and also to dispel any negative myths and fears about bitcoin and the Blockchain. I cannot allow the misinformation that has been spread to impact the future of Bitcoin and the Blockchain. I’m now able to build on what I have previously completed by releasing my research and academic work and help people understand just how powerful this can really be.”

One of the founding directors of the Bitcoin Foundation, Jon Matonis, explained that he previously had an inkling when he met Wright last year that he might have been Satoshi, with whom he had an email relationship since 2010 when a bitcoin white paper was published.

Matonis said in a statement, "According to me, the proof is conclusive and I have no doubt that Craig Steven Wright is the person behind the Bitcoin technology, Nakamoto consensus, and the Satoshi Nakamoto name."

Gavin Andresen, chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation, also said he believes Wright in a blog post.

"It would be better if Satoshi Nakamoto was the codename for an NSA project, or an artificial intelligence sent from the future to advance our primitive money," Andresen wrote. "He is not, he is an imperfect human being just like the rest of us. I hope he manages to mostly ignore the storm that his announcement will create, and keep doing what he loves -- learning and research and innovating."