On this episode of CoinGeek Weekly Livestream, TAAL Distributed Information Technologies Inc. (CSE:TAAL | FWB:9SQ1 | OTC:TAALF) CEO Stefan Mathews talks about his early encounters with Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, also known as Dr. Craig S. Wright. Furthermore, he disclosed intricate details that transpired during proof sessions under his watch, including one with Gavin Andresen, an American computer scientist and software developer known for his early contributions to Bitcoin.
According to Matthews, his discussions with Dr. Wright in the early and middle parts of 2000s involved a variety of concepts and techniques related to security components and economics modelling around digital cash and digital gold. “These were highly fragmented discussions,” he says. “I never thought much about it until he [Craig] started to bring things together.”
Matthews’ first recollection of the Bitcoin White Paper was a version that came in a USB stick that Dr. Wright handed over to him to read. As he explains, “The paper was very closely worded in recollection to the final paper [Bitcoin White Paper]. It talked about peer to peer electronic cash. It certainly referenced that in the form of Bitcoin.”
Matthews, who was CEO of a public company then, said his relationship with Dr. Wright took the form of a business advisor sometime in 2014—although he had no keen interest in Bitcoin at that time. He recalls asking Dr. Wright where he was going with all this, to which Dr. Wright replied, “I don’t like running companies, I just want to be a guy that creates stuff and pass it on to people who run businesses and work with my inventions.” It was out of that conversation that nChain was born, a company where Matthews currently sits as executive chairman.
Shortly after, plans for a U.K. based research company went into full gear but as Matthews recalls, the business roadmap was interrupted after the media had exposed Dr. Wright as Satoshi. “It changed the way we thought about things and we came up with, you know, we’ve got to get in front of this.”
In a stunning revelation, Matthews tells CoinGeek’s Chief Bitcoin Historian Kurt Wuckert Jr. that he initiated a series of proof sessions wherein Dr. Wright met in private with several relevant figures such as Gavin Andresen. The purpose of these highly confidential meetings was to provide evidence that Dr. Wright has the keys to the early blocks in Bitcoin. On these occasions, the invited guest was asked to randomly select any three blocks from the first ten and to dictate a private message that Dr. Wright would sign.
After such proof session between Dr. Wright and Andresen, Matthews recalls the latter saying, “I thought about what I would do if I ever came face to face with Satoshi, not that I ever thought it would happen, but I thought what would I do?” At this point Matthews said Andresen looked at Dr. Wright, and said, “Craig, every time I thought about it, I’ve come to the same conclusion, all I want to do is say thank you.”
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