Police raid Sydney home of reported Bitcoin creator

Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has been identified by tech publications as possibly the mysterious founder of online cryptocurrency Bitcoin, shortly before his Sydney home was reportedly raided in a tax probe on Wednesday.

There has long been speculation about who was behind the software written in 2009 under the Japanese-sounding name Satoshi Nakamoto, with various media outlets unsuccessfully trying to find out.

Whoever is behind it likely wants to keep their identify secret as detractors say Bitcoin's use on the underground Silk Road website, where users could buy drugs and guns with it, could link them with criminal activity. Technology-focused websites Wired and Gizmodo have now both suggested Wright was responsible, saying he fit the creator's profile in nearly every detail, citing leaked documents.

"The signs point to Craig Steven Wright, a man who never even made it onto any Nakamoto hunters' public list of candidates, yet fits the cryptocurrency creator's profile in nearly every detail," said Wired of its investigation. "Despite a massive trove of evidence, we still can't say with absolute certainty that the mystery is solved. But two possibilities outweigh all others: Either Wright invented Bitcoin, or he's a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did." On Wednesday, police raided a home in Sydney where Wright reportedly lived with his family.