Craig Wright, the controversial figure who claims to be Bitcoinâs creator, lashed out at Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy, accusing him of distorting the true essence of Bitcoin.
Wrightâs condemnation comes on the heels of Saylorâs announcing that he wants to turn MicroStrategy into a merchant bank for Bitcoin (BTC).
In a blistering critique, posted to X on Oct. 12, Wright said Bitcoin âhas been distorted, manipulated, and centralizedânow incapable of facilitating simple transactions without the intervention of intermediaries.â
Wright directed his ire at Saylor specifically for âbuilding a so-called âBitcoin bankâ to serve as the very obstacle that Bitcoin was designed to eliminate.â
Saylor recently told Bernstein analysts that MicroStrategy is âa Bitcoin finance companyâ and that the goal is to amass $150 billion In Bitcoin holdings. The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company is the largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally.
âThis is not innovation,â Wright said. âThis is the betrayal of the principles Bitcoin was built upon.â See the full statement below.
Saylor vs. Wright
Wrightâs criticism comes at a time when Saylor is positioning MicroStrategy as a major BTC holder and an advocate for Bitcoin as âdigital gold.â
Wright, however, suggests that Saylorâs strategy distorts Bitcoinâs original purpose. He continues:
âTo call BTC âBitcoinâ while simultaneously profiting from the very middleman role that true Bitcoin rejects is the height of deception, and it is through this misrepresentation that Saylor seeks to build his empire.â
This critique reflects a broader, ongoing debate within the cryptocurrency community about the true vision of Bitcoin. While Saylor is seen by many as a key figure in bringing institutional attention to BTC, Wright and others claim that BTC has strayed from Bitcoinâs original goals, particularly regarding scalability and transaction fees.
Wrightâs condemnation is sure to ignite further discussions, as the rift between different factions of the Bitcoin communityâparticularly BTC and Bitcoin SV proponentsâcontinues to deepen.
Bitcoin SV is a cryptocurrency that originated from a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in November 2018.
Saylor has been an outspoken advocate for Bitcoin as a long-term investment, buying billions of dollars worth of BTC through MicroStrategy. He views Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and a store of value, similar to gold.
Wright, on the other hand, insists that Bitcoin was not meant to be a store of wealth.
Satoshi claims
Wright isnât without controversy in his own right. His claim that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoinâs pseudonymous creator, remains a point of contention and skepticism within the wider cryptocurrency community.
A new documentary from HBO on Satoshi Nakamoto seemingly raised the possibility of Bitcoin developer Peter Todd as the cryptocurrencyâs creator.
Todd denied that heâs Satoshi on X.com.