How I became a cult member and how I got out – reposted from Ryan X. Charles

Below is a tweet by Ryan X. Charles on X about how the cult mindset works.

https://x.com/ryan_x_charles/status/1770361328944709710

I became a cult member in 2017 when I met Craig Wight in person and truly believed he was Satoshi Nakamoto.

I was convinced he was Satoshi because Gavin Andresen, Jon Matonis and Ian Grigg, people I respected, had claimed to verify he was Satoshi Nakamoto, including supposed key signing ceremonies. That, and he had the beliefs and actions of someone I thought was consistent with Satoshi Nakamoto.

My false belief in Craig Wright would go on to damage me financially in truly spectacular fashion. Because Craig told me to use Bitcoin Cash immediately after it launched, believing this was coming from Satoshi Nakamoto, a figure I idolized, I invested my personal savings into Bitcoin Cash and pivoted my business to focus exclusively on Bitcoin Cash. This would turn out to be a disaster in time, as Bitcoin Cash became BSV, and continuously fell in price and adoption.

I used to be a big holder of Bitcoin. I sold all of it to support Craig Wright. Not only did my investments not pan out, but I have missed the giant bull run on Bitcoin as a consequence, even though I am an OG going back to 2011. I am out at least tens of millions of dollars, possibly more. The true scale of the losses will be determined when I account for all of my records.

I realized I had failed in 2020. My business was not profitable, it was not growing, and I realized the technology I had been using exclusively, BSV, had very low prospects of success. I simply had to admit to myself my only option was to exit. I managed to sell the company and then began the long process of unwinding my belief system.

From 2020 until now, I have spent a lot of time ruminating on the trauma I experienced from 2017 - 2020. Now that we know Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, I understand. I was a cult member and was being manipulated by a psychopath who did not care if he ruined me so long as he had perceived near-term benefit.

One of the reasons why it took me so long to accept that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto is that it would have to be a truly huge scam that would ultimately hurt everyone and even himself. Unfortunately, as I have learned, this is a known pattern of behavior for psychopaths. Craig Wright will indeed get his day in court, again, as the number of people he has hurt is enormous, and it is now established in court he has been lying this whole time. Lawsuits are inevitable.

It took four years of meditation and relaxation to grapple with the scope of my error. Even after all that time, I am still in shock with the declarations that came from the judge. The totality of evidence is overwhelming. Craig Wright is simply not Satoshi Nakamoto, and there was never a reason to believe that he was. I was totally wrong in a big way. Evidently, I am not as smart as I thought.

I estimate I am only about 50% of the way detoxed from the cult, even after four years, as I am still learning to accept that there was never any convincing evidence he was Satoshi Nakamoto, and everything I thought I knew was all lies. Fortunately, there is an emerging network of survivors who are in touch and can lend each other support to grapple with the emotions involved in exiting a cult.

Craig Wright was enabled by Calvin Ayre and Stefan Matthews, his co-conspirators going back to 2016 or earlier. While I cannot say for sure what happened from before 2017, I do know that the three of them orchestrated this giant scam. I know this from personal experience, and I am certain evidence exists to link them. Together, they have caused a catastrophe for anyone who got involved with them from the beginning until now.

Please be kind to the remaining cult members. They truly believe Craig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto, and this blinds them to the evidence that is staring them in the face. They need kindness, not trolling on X.