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COMPUTERSCIENTIST DOMINICLIPINSKI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE BBC News said Monday that Craig Wright told the media outlet he is the man previously known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The computer scientist, inventor and academic says he launched the currency in 2009with the help of others. By Gregory Katz The Associated Press LONDON An Australian man long rumored to be associated with the digital currency Bitcoin has pub- licly identified himself as its creator, a claim that would end one of the biggest mys- teries in the tech world. BBC News said Monday that Craig Wright told the media outlet he is the man previously known by the pseudonym Satoshi Naka- moto. The computer scien- tist, inventor and academic said he launched the cur- rency in 2009 with the help of others. Wright made simi- lar claims to the Econo- mist magazine, which said on its website it still has "nagging" questions about Wright's claim. He also as- serted his role in a lengthy blog post. The founder's identity has been shrouded in uncer- tainty, and the media's in- ability to pinpoint the per- son responsible has led to a series of investigations. Last year, some reports claimed Wright was the founder and had used a false name to mask his identity. Wright told the BBC he had decided to make his identity known to stop the spread of "misinformation" about Bitcoin. "I didn't take the decision lightly to make my identity public and I want to be clear that I'm doing this because I care so passionately about my work and also to dis- pel any negative myths and fears," he said. Wright said he believes that Bitcoin and block- chain, the technical inno- vation that makes the cur- rency possible, "can change the world for the better." He added that he would now be able to release his research and academic work to help people under- stand the potential of Bit- coin. Bitcoin is designed for se- cure financial transactions that require no central au- thority — no banks, no gov- ernment regulators. That makes it attractive to off- the-grid types such as lib- ertarians, people who want to evade tax authorities, and criminals, even though Bit- coin doesn't guarantee ano- nymity, since it documents every transaction in a pub- lic forum. According to the BBC, Wright supported his claim to being the founder by signing digital messages using cryptographic keys used during the early days of Bitcoin. If Wright is the founder, he is likely a very wealthy person. The person going by the pseudonym Nakamoto is believed to have amassed about 1 million Bitcoins, which would be worth about $450 million if converted to cash, the BBC says. Jon Matonis, one of the founding directors of the Bitcoin Foundation, which says it helps support the use of the currency, told the BBC he is convinced that Wright is who he claims to be and is responsible for a brilliant achievement. The hunt for Bitcoin's founder had become a mis- sion for some journalists. Attention focused for a time on a Finnish sociologist, a Japanese math whiz and a Japanese-American engi- neer. In December, the tech- nology magazine Wired and the website Gizmodo both published lengthy in- vestigations based on docu- ments and emails that con- cluded Wright was probably the man behind the pseud- onym. He was living in an upscale suburb of Sydney at the time. The reports were cir- cumstantial and contained no proof. But Wright's new statements, and his use of Nakamoto's own encrypted signature, known as a PGP key, may have confirmed his role. He also spoke to GQ magazine and the London Review of Books. Mysterysolved?Australian identifies himself as Bitcoin founder By Matthew Lee The Associated Press GENEVA U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Mon- day said "several propos- als" aimed at finding a way to restore at least a partial truce in Syria are being discussed, amid continu- ing attacks in the city of Aleppo. Kerry met with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al- Jubeir and with the U.N. envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura. He said progress was being made toward an understanding on how to reduce the violence in Aleppo but that more work was needed. "There are several pro- posals that are now go- ing back to key players to sign off," Kerry said after meeting de Mistura. We are hopeful but we are not there yet... we are going to work very hard in the next 24 hours, 48 hours to get there." He did not say what the proposals were, adding that he would telephone Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later Mon- day and that de Mistura was headed to Moscow on Tuesday for talks. HesaidtheUnitedStates and Russia have agreed that there will be addi- tional personnel stationed in Geneva around the clock to make sure there is more accountability and a better ability to enforce the cessa- tion of hostilities on a day- to-day basis. Speaking later to staff at the U.S. mission in Geneva, Kerrysaidhehopedthatan agreement about Aleppo could be announced within the next few days. For Aleppo, the U.S. is considering drawing up with the Russians a de- tailed map that would lay out "safe zones." Civilians and members of moder- ate opposition groups cov- ered by the truce could find shelter from persistent at- tacks by Assad's military, which claims to be target- ing terrorists. One U.S. offi- cial said "hard lines" would delineate specific areas and neighborhoods. The offi- cials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to dis- cuss the matter publicly. It was not immediately clear whether Russia would accept such a plan or if Moscow could persuade the Assad government to respect the prospective zones. Some U.S. officials are skeptical of the chances for success, but also note that it is worth a try to at least reduce the violence. U.S. officials also say the safe zones will not be "no- fly zones" per se. However, details, such as the loca- tions of those, have not yet been agreed to and these issues will be discussed by Kerry and Lavrov in a phone call later Monday, as well as by Lavrov and de Mistura in Moscow. Earlier, al-Jubeir called the situation in Aleppo with continued airstrikes an "outrage" and a crimi- nal violation of humanitar- ian law. He said that Syr- ian President Bashar Assad would be held accountable for the attacks and would be removed from power either through a political process or by force. "There is only one side that is flying airplanes, and that is Bashar al-Assad and his allies, so they are re- sponsible for the massacre of women, children, and the elderly," he said. "They areresponsibleforthemur- der of doctors and medical personnel, and this situa- tion, any way you slice it, will not stand. The world is not going to allow them to get away with this." Kerry's meetings in Ge- neva came as Syria's state news agency said the mili- tary has extended its cease- fire around Damascus and opposition strongholds in eastern suburbs for an- other 48 hours. It said the cessation of hostili- ties that was declared Fri- day around the capital and the coastal Latakia region, following two weeks of es- calating violence around the country. Kerry said he hoped the truce in these ar- eas would be extended fur- ther. Ke rr y se ek s pa th t o ca lm i n Sy ri a, h ol ds talks in Geneva 'SEVERAL PROPOSALS' SALVATORE DI NOLFI — KEYSTONE U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, le , and the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, right, speak to the media during a press briefing a er their meeting on Syria in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday. By Jim Gomez The Associated Press MANILA, PHILIPPINES Al- legations that the Philip- pine presidential election front-runner had a large sum of money in an unde- clared bank account were not resolved Monday, al- lowing the issue to hang over the final week of the closely fought race. Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has alleged Mayor Ro- drigo Duterte kept more than 200 million pesos ($4.2 million) in a joint bank account with his daughter that he did not declare publicly in 2014 as required by law. Trillanes, who is running for vice president and is back- ing a rival candidate of Duterte, went to the Bank of the Philippine Islands and met with the mayor's lawyer but said the ques- tioned account was not opened for scrutiny. When Trillanes stepped out of the bank, some of the doz- ens of Duterte supporters yelled "liar" at him before he was whisked off by es- corts in a van. Riot po- lice stood by to maintain order in the business dis- trict where Trillanes' sup- porters also came, carry- ing posters that read: "We don't want corrupt candi- dates." A large throng of journalists, TV camera- men and photographers stood outside the bank to await the outcome of the meeting between Trillanes and Duterte lawyer Salva- dor Panelo. Panelo said the mayor authorized him to ask that the questioned account be opened to prove the allegations were false, but bank officials told him it would take seven days to study the request. 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