Scammers Boost BSV Price With Fake Satoshi Confirmation

Scammers boosted the price of bitcoin SV with a fake news alert purporting to show BSV's creator is also bitcoin's.

AccessTimeIconMay 29, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 9:15 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Scammers boosted the price of Bitcoin SV (BSV) Wednesday by publishing a fake news alert purporting to show that BSV's creator is also bitcoin's.

Masquerading as the Chinese news site Coinbull, the bogus alert claimed that Craig Wright had transferred bitcoin (BTC) from the so-called Satoshi wallets to prove his identity.

The result? A $60 boost in the bitcoin SV price in less than 10 hours.

screen-shot-2019-05-29-at-12-40-15-pm

Wright, who led the fork that created BSV in November 2018, has maintained for years that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous architect of bitcoin, but his claims continue to be met with widespread skepticism.

If he really were Satoshi, many critics have said, then Wright should control the private keys to the wallets that mined the first bitcoin – and thus needs only to move some of those coins to settle the matter.

Hence, the "alert" read:

CSW transferred 50k BTC from the biggest BTC wallet to Binance, which confirmed he is the real Satoshi. As such CZ will re-list BSV and make an official apology on Twitter.
d7vejr7vuacskgm

These scams are common – and lucrative.

"The trick is easy and constantly used by many scams – all Chinese crypto media circulate the breaking news via picture as above in WeChat instead of a news link. So anybody can just use the same theme template and photoshop one," said Dovey Wan, founding partner at Primitive Ventures.

Coinbull responded on WeChat with its own announcement, writing:

Coinbull announcement: regarding recent malicious photoshopped image to impersonate Coinbull to spread rumors.

Recently, we have received feedback from users that certain people had maliciously sent out photoshopped Coinbull news alert to spread rumors about Binance and CSW which had bad consequences. We remind our users again not to trust any rumors and not to spread any rumors. Thank you for your support.”

BSV hit a $193.07 seven-day high on the rumor and is leveling out at about $180 as of this writing.

Image via Shutterstock

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


Read more about