Alleged Bitcoin Inventor Teams Up With Bodog Owner and Gambling Tycoon
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News of the formidable partnership came thanks to international news agency Reuters, who picked up the story after gaining access to documents and e-mails from an Antigua company called EITC Holdings, which the media outlet ties to Ayre, but also related sources. But so far, neither Ayre nor Wright have commented on the alleged relationship, nor their future goals.
Wright and Ayre Reportedly Filed Over 70 Bitcoin Patents
According to reports, Wright and people associated to him have filed over 70 different patents in the UK, with people with direct insight into his business claiming he plans to file up to 400. The patents are related to various technologies, including ones used for medical document storage and Wi-Fi security, which, if approved, are believed to reach a price tag of over 1 billion dollars.
The 70 patents are only a small part of all blockchain patents filed in the past 1-2 years, during which interest in Bitcoin and its technology skyrocketed. Only last year, 63 patents were filed on a global scale, while in the past couple of months 27 more were added from various companies. However, Wright’s collection is the biggest single filing of Bitcoin patents thus far, according to reports.
The rush for patents is believed to be a direct result of the increasing appeal of blockchain technology, which is ultimately believed to be able to outgrow the need for “financial intermediaries” and revolutionize and challenge the way current payment systems work. This, combined with Bitcoin’s potential of becoming a shield against regulatory measures and borders, is what makes blockchain technology so attractive.
A Powerful Partnership
Calvin Ayre is the gambling entrepreneur behind the Bovada online casino, which has successfully grown out of its original platform launched in the 1990s to the current Bitcoin accepting casino. He currently lives in Antigua, due to indictments from the U.S. Attorney’s Office against him and four other associates for providing illegal online gambling services to US citizens, which he rejected.
Craig Wright, on the other hand, has made claims last year to be behind the persona of Satoshi Nakamoto – the inventor of Bitcoin. The claims remained unconfirmed, while Wright’s role in the invention of Bitcoin was only credited in part, thanks to two folders of computer code for an early Bitcoin version, which he used to support his claim and which lead many to believe he was, at least, part of a group of Bitcoin’s original inventors.
The relationship between the two is believed to be dating back to 2010, when, according to sources, Wright was working for Bodog. The casino has since then grown to become one of the most popular Bitcoin casinos.
