The Sunday Project host Hamish Macdonald has a fiery run-in with the rumored founder of bitcoin during this weekend’s episode – and things get heated as his interviewee repeatedly labels Macdonald a “w***er.”
In this exclusive preview of Sunday’s episode, Macdonald sits down for an interview with Australian computer scientist Dr Craig Wright, who has in the past claimed to be the man behind the pseudonym used by bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto.
The two sit down to discuss how the future of the internet will dethrone Silicon Valley, but the interview goes south when Macdonald questions his guest’s integrity, pushing him to provide proof that he is indeed the inventor of bitcoin – and Dr Wright bites back.
“Look up a law book, and look what proof is, and do a course,” Dr Wright sarcastically tells his interviewer.
“And when you come back, and you actually know what the f**k you’re talking about, then we can have a discussion. Otherwise you’re just being aw***er.”
“Why get irritated and start swearing?” asks Macdonald.
“I’m Australian – and if you’re going to be aw***er, I’ll call you aw***er,” says Dr Wright.
The full, fiery interview will air at 6.30pm this Sunday on The Sunday Project.
Dr Wright previously made headlines in December last year when he was ordered to pay $142 million in damages in a bitter legal battle – something he publicly claimed as a victory.
In a landmark case, Dr Wright was being sued by the family of deceased computer scientist David Kleiman, who they contended created the cryptocurrency along with Dr Wright under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
Mr Kleiman died in 2013 but his family was seeking half of a bitcoin stash worth nearly $70 billion that is held by Satoshi Nakamoto, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Dr Wright claimed he created bitcoin on his own, a contention that has drawn widespread skepticism in the crypto community.
And he claimed victory when a federal court jury in Miami last December ruled he was only liable for conversion (the illegal taking of property).
The court awarded W&K Info Defense Research, a joint venture between the two men, $US100 million ($A142 million), which was significantly less than the amount Mr Kleiman’s family was seeking.
“I have never been so relieved in my life,” Dr Wright said after the verdict.
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