AUSTRALIAN Federal Police raided the Sydney home yesterday of a man named by Wired magazine as the probable creator of cryptocurrency bitcoin.

    The property is registered under the Australian electoral role to Craig Steven Wright, whom Wired outed as the likely real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous figure that first released bitcoin’s code in 2009.

    More than a dozen federal police officers entered the house, on Sydney’s north shore, after locksmiths broke open the door.

    The Australian Federal Police said that the officers’ “presence at Mr. Wright’s property is not associated with the media reporting overnight about bitcoins.”

    The police raid in Australia came hours after Wired magazine and technology website Gizmodo published articles saying that their investigations showed Wright, who they said was an Australian academic, was probably the secretive bitcoin creator.

    Their investigations were based on leaked emails, documents and Web archives, including what was said to be a transcript of a meeting between Wright and Australian tax officials.

    The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has long been a mystery journalists and bitcoin enthusiasts have tried to unravel.

    (SD-Agencies)