Today, Australian computer scientist Dr. Craig Wright is appearing in the UK High Court, asserting his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous figure credited with creating bitcoin.
Wright has consistently claimed to be the brain behind the pioneering decentralized digital currency, a stance that has often been met with scepticism by the public. He has actively used legal means to support his claim.
Wright’s primary objective is to protect the original vision of bitcoin from entities that, in his view, misuse the bitcoin name and its foundational whitepaper to promote divergent products and coins. In a 2021 blog post, Wright emphasized his commitment to safeguarding the whitepaper from being used in ways that mislead people and detract from bitcoin’s true potential.
In his campaign, Wright has initiated legal actions against various bitcoin developers, podcasters, and major cryptocurrency exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase, alleging infringement of his intellectual property rights.
Now, Wright faces a challenge from the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit organization aiming to definitively refute Wright’s claims to bitcoin. COPA has criticized Wright for failing to provide convincing proof of being Satoshi Nakamoto, despite his repeated public promises. They have pointed out instances where evidence presented by Wright was either inauthentic or of dubious origin.
COPA’s legal filings include 38 pages of evidence contesting Wright’s claim of authoring the original bitcoin whitepaper, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” They accuse him of submitting forged documents created in a typesetting system different from the one used for the original whitepaper. According to COPA, the whitepaper was produced in OpenOffice 2.4, not LaTeX, as suggested by Wright’s documents.
Despite these controversies, the court has allowed the inclusion of these documents in the trial. Justice Mellor, overseeing the case, has denied Wright’s attempts to delay the proceedings.
Wright had proposed a settlement on January 24, offering to withdraw his copyright and database rights claims on bitcoin and its forks, in exchange for a donation to Burnside, a Uniting Church in Australia, and an end to any media campaigns against him. He also demanded recognition as the true visionary behind bitcoin. However, COPA rejected this offer, citing concerns over potential loopholes and the requirement to acknowledge Wright as Satoshi.
The outcome of the case hinges on Wright’s ability to convincingly demonstrate that he authored the original bitcoin whitepaper. If COPA’s allegations of forgery hold true, Wright’s claim may face significant challenges.
