Self-Proclaimed Inventor Of Bitcoin Reportedly Seeks Hundreds Of Patents On Blockchain Technology

The man who claims to be the inventor of bitcoin is reportedly attempting to secure his intellectual property via a host of new patent filings. Australian Craig Wright, who claims to be bitcoin founder “Satoshi Nakamoto,” has now filed at least 50 patent applications via Britain’s EITC Holdings Ltd.

“It looks like he is trying to patent the fundamental building blocks of any blockchain, cryptocurrency, or distributed ledger system,” Reuters consultant Antony Lewis says.

Related Link: Digital Currencies Could Completely Transform Global Markets

The blockchain is the decentralized public record of all transactions that is at the core of the bitcoin currency.

A number of startups and financial institutions have been investing heavily in technology that utilizes the blockchain framework that bitcoin made so famous. If Wright gets his way, these projects may soon be derailed.

Wright himself has declined to comment on the patent filings.

Earlier this year, the 45-year-old Wright stepped up and revealed that he was the true identity of Nakamoto, but much of the skeptical bitcoin community was not convinced by the initial proof he provided. After promising to publicly provide additional proof of his identity, Wright subsequently changed his mind.

The London Review of Books claims that Wright is in the process of filing hundreds of patents that will eventually be sold for more than $1 billion dollars.