A contentious legal battle over the ownership of bitcoin unfolded in a London court, as an Australian computer scientist, who asserts he is the inventor of bitcoin, denied allegations of forging documents to substantiate his claim.
Craig Wright claims authorship of the 2008 white paper, the foundational document of bitcoin, published under the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto.” The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) has taken Wright to court, seeking a ruling from London’s High Court that he is not, in fact, Satoshi Nakamoto. COPA contends that Wright has repeatedly produced forged documents to support his claim and has changed his narrative when inconsistencies in these documents are pointed out.
COPA, representing bitcoin developers, aims to prevent Wright from suing those developers and aims to preserve the open-source nature of the cryptocurrency. The legal battle marks the culmination of years of speculation regarding the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.
During the court proceedings, COPA’s lawyer, Jonathan Hough, directly questioned Wright about the alleged forgeries. Hough inquired whether Wright had ever forged or falsified a document in support of his claim, to which Wright replied in the negative. When asked if he had knowingly presented a forged or falsified document to support his claim, Wright again denied any wrongdoing.
Hough presented various alleged forgeries to Wright, including an academic paper with handwritten notes, which Wright claims influenced his decision to use the name Satoshi Nakamoto. COPA argues that the document contains a forged timestamp with visibly different fonts, creating the appearance of predating the bitcoin white paper.
Hough asserted that the document is a fabrication by Wright, part of an “origin myth.” In response, Wright denied forging the document, stating, “If I forged that document, it would be perfect.”
The legal proceedings, set to span six days, bring to light the longstanding mystery surrounding the true identity of the creator of bitcoin and underscore the challenges associated with proving authorship in the decentralized world of cryptocurrencies.