To online casino players Bitcoin is another payment option that is being offered by more and more gambling sites. Many have already opted for it because Bitcoins are free from the hassles of national regulation. Others have stayed away because of the uncertainties involved. But Bitcoins are very much more than online gambling. It will have far reaching implications in almost all walks of life. Right now a storm is brewing in the Bitcoin world with two big personalities involved.

One is Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who last year made the claim that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. The other is Calvin Ayre, a pioneer in online gaming. Ayre is seen as a victim of the American legal system or an entrepreneur who made dirty money through online gambling. The two have got together to file more than 70 patent applications in Britain pertaining to the applications of Bitcoins and blockchain technology in storage of medical documents to WiFi security. Wright is supplying the technical expertise and Ayre the financial and legal muscle.

As yet there is no certainty that Wright is actually Satoshi Nakamoto. In fact many people believe that Nakamoto is the name taken by a group of people. But Wright has furnished evidence to show that he was closely involved in the development of the cryptocurrency before it became public in 2009. If Wright is actually Nakamoto, then the time seems to be ripe for him to act. Entrepreneurs, multi-national banks and remote payment services providers believe that Bitcoins can cut costs in payment transactions with even better security in place. More important is the fact that Bitcoins can circumvent national regulations. Online gamblers say that using Bitcoin enables them to disguise their identity and transactions.

It has been alleged that Wright’s links to online gambling go back decades and that he created Bitcoin technology keeping gambling in mind. Independent computer coding experts have opined that the Bitcoin code that they have examined contains unimplemented functions related to poker. Ayre has expressed that there is a growing convergence between Bitcoin and online gambling. Wright denies the gambling only link and says that his vision for Bitcoin goes much further. He believes that the Bitcoin blockchain can be scaled up to replace all existing payment system networks to become the world's single global economic infrastructure. It is therefore hardly surprising that Wright and Ayre are putting all their might in this endeavour.