In a High Court hearing in London on Monday, it was claimed that an MI6 officer found deceased in a bag in his London apartment 14 years ago played a crucial role in developing Bitcoin.
This assertion came from Craig Wright, an Australian programmer who asserts he is the cryptocurrency’s creator.
During the hearing, it emerged that Wright, in a separate US legal case, had identified Gareth Williams, the deceased MI6 officer, as a significant figure in the creation of Bitcoin.
This claim surfaced amidst a heated legal dispute between Wright and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a group backed by Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey. The central issue of the dispute is whether Wright truly is the inventor of Bitcoin.
COPA has challenged Wright’s credibility, pointing out his pattern of making “implausible” claims about deceased individuals. They highlighted Wright’s alleged connections with Dave Kleiman, a forensics expert who passed away in 2013, and David Rees, a British computer scientist known for his work in decoding Nazi codes at Bletchley Park during World War II.
A key point of contention is Wright’s claim of having communicated with Williams in 2011, despite Williams having died a year earlier. Williams, a GCHQ codebreaker, was found dead in a locked bag in his flat.
At the trial’s commencement, Jonathan Hough KC, representing COPA, described Wright’s assertions as “a brazen lie” and accused him of supporting his claims with widespread forgery.
Wright, who appeared in court in a grey pinstripe suit, has refuted allegations of lying, and his legal defence did not bring up Williams. COPA maintains that Wright has not provided credible evidence to back his claims, accusing him of relying on falsified documents.
Lord Grabiner KC, representing Mr. Wright, stated that his client had dedicated many years to researching and developing the foundational concepts of Bitcoin. He emphasized that there was “clear evidence” supporting Mr. Wright’s role in the creation of Bitcoin. Mr. Wright is scheduled to start presenting his testimony on Tuesday.
