Revealed, the elusive creator of Bitcoin: Founder of digital currency is named as an Australian academic after police raid his Sydney home

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With a name like Satoshi Nakamoto, it was widely assumed the creator of digital currency bitcoin was some reclusive Japanese technology wizard.

But it appears he is actually an Australian academic – called Craig Steven Wright.

An investigation from tech site Wired claims the 44-year-old Sydney academic is likely the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous figure that first released bitcoin's code in 2009. 

And in a bizarre coincidence, more than a dozen Australia Federal Police officers raided Dr Wright's Gordon property on Sydney's north shore at 1.30pm – but they denied any link to the report.

News outlets have endeavoured to unravel the mystery of who created Bitcoin for several years due to its link with criminal activities – such as the sale of drugs on the dark net - as well as the future of the multi-billion dollar digital asset.

Australian academic Craig Steven Wright, who has been named as the probable creator of digital currency Bitcoin in a new report

The AFP police swooped on Dr Wright's property at about 1:30pm on Wednesday and said they were 'clearing the house' after being asked what they were doing 

The AFP referred all inquiries about the raid to the Australian Tax Office, who told Daily Mail Australia they were not willing to comment on the raid

More than a dozen Australia Federal Police officers raided Dr Wright's Gordon property on Sydney's north shore at 1.30pm on Wednesday, just hours after the report was published

A statement from the AFP claimed their 'presence at Mr. Wright's property is not associated with the media reporting overnight about bitcoins'

Bitcoins are lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they travel from one owner to the next.

They are the basic unit of a new online economy which runs independently of any company, bank, or government. 

They have become increasingly popular – with libertarians as well as technophiles, speculators and criminals – because they allow people to trade money without a third party getting involved.

The AFP police swooped on Dr Wright's property at about 1.30pm on Wednesday, claiming they were 'clearing the house' after being asked what they were doing.

A statement from the AFP claimed their 'presence at Mr Wright's property is not associated with the media reporting overnight about bitcoins'.   

The AFP referred all inquiries about the raid to the Australian Tax Office, who told Daily Mail Australia they were not willing to comment on the raid.

‘Due to confidentiality provision in the tax administration act, the ATO cannot comment on any individuals or entity’s tax affairs,’ the ATO spokesperson said. 

 ‘Due to confidentiality provision in the tax administration act, the ATO cannot comment on any individuals or entity’s tax affairs,’ the ATO spokesperson said

The police raid came hours after Wired magazine published the report saying Dr Wright was likely the secretive bitcoin creator

The New York Times, Newsweek and other publications have guessed at Nakamoto's real identity, but none has proved conclusive

The police raid came hours after Wired magazine published the report outing Dr Wright as the suspected bitcoin creator.

Dr Wright, who spoke via Skype at a Bitcoin Investor's Conference in Las Vegas this year, has had a long-running career in academia- but the investigation suggests he was also behind the Nakamoto alias. 

The report features posts on his blog - which was deleted after the report was published - that declared his intent to launch a 'cryptocurrency paper' in 2008. 

In another post from 10 January 2009, Wright announced the launch of bitcoin 'tomorrow' - which would have been published in Australian time before the 3pm launch on 9 January in American time. 

Dr Craig Steven Wright speaks via Skype at a Bitcoin Investor's Conference in Las Vegas this year 

The investigation included a leaked email of Dr Wright's with Australian tax officials in 2014 saw him reportedly confess to 'running' Bitcoin

The report also contained a leaked draft email Dr Wright sent during a tax dispute with the Australian government which was signed 'Satoshi Nakamoto' but was never sent.

The report also contains a leaked transcript of a meeting between Dr Wright's and Australian tax officials in 2014 which saw him seemingly confess to 'running' Bitcoin.

'I did my best to try and hide the fact that I've been running bitcoin since 2009. By the end of this I think half the world is going to bloody know.' 

Daily Mail Australia has been unable to confirm whether the interviews took place or whether the transcripts are an accurate representation of the interviews if they did indeed occur. 

News outlets have endeavoured to unravel the mystery of who created Bitcoin for several years in a bid to determine the future of the multi-billion dollar digital asset

Since it was launched in January 2009, the value of the bitcoin currency has ballooned to almost $US5bn

The New York Times, Newsweek and other publications have guessed at Nakamoto's real identity, but none has proved conclusive.  

Nakamoto was nominated for a Nobel prize earlier this month but was declared ineligible do to his mysterious identity, prompting the following tweet from Dr Wright.

'If Satoshi-chan was made for an ACM turing price [sic] or an Alfred Nobel in Economics he would let you bloody know that'. 

Since it was launched in January 2009, the value of the bitcoin currency has ballooned to almost $US5bn.