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Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? Widely considered to be one of the richest individuals in the world, with Bitcoin ownership that is estimated to range between 750,000 BTC and 1.1 million BTC, the actual identity of the founder of the world’s pre-eminent cryptocurrency remains an enduring enigma. However, a UK court is now all set to decide on the veracity of one of the most outspoken claimants to Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity – Craig Steven Wright.
As most of our readers would know by now, Bitcoin’s whitepaper was published anonymously back in 2009 by an individual or a group of people under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Since 2011, all attempts to contact Nakamoto have remained in vain, leading to vicious bouts of speculation. In 2016, Craig Wright, an Australian academic, started claiming that he was the founder of Bitcoin. A Gizmodo report published soon thereafter boosted Wright’s credentials by reporting on the evidence supposedly obtained by a hacker who was able to break into the Australian academic’s email account.
As per the documents obtained in that supposed hack, Craig Wright published Bitcoin’s whitepaper in collaboration with Dave Kleiman, an American computer forensics expert who died in 2013. Nonetheless, several prominent Bitcoin maximalists remained unconvinced. What’s more, a subsequent investigation by Vice found that Satoshi Nakamoto’s PGP keys that were discovered in Wright’s emails were likely fake, leading to pronouncements of an elaborate hoax.
In 2019, Craig Wright was able to obtain a US copyright for Bitcoin’s whitepaper. A subsequent clarification by the US Copyrights Office noted that it does not investigate legal ownership credentials and rather focuses on whether a particular work is eligible for a copyright, adding that all ensuing disputes are usually settled in courts.
COPA v Wright, the identity issue – Day 1 🧵
Today is for “oral openings”, which I’m told is not a dental procedure. Both sides will make their case, and no surprises are expected. I look forward to taking in the tense atmosphere that often surrounds opening days of major trials… pic.twitter.com/b5LbqTGpXx
— Norbert ⚡️ (@bitnorbert) February 5, 2024
This brings us to the crux of the matter. The Crypto Open Patent Association (COPA) and Craig Wright are now embroiled in a high-stakes court case that will likely determine whether Wright is in fact the founder of Bitcoin.
Experts also agree that it’s *not* difficult to reverse-engineer the Bitcoin wp PDF into LaTeX. The LaTeX also uses feature that did not exist at the time the wp was published. Wright had also extensively edited the document in Overleaf in 2023. A long editing history is shown on…
— Norbert ⚡️ (@bitnorbert) February 5, 2024
Initial testimonies are not going in Craig Wright’s favor. Do note that real fireworks begin tomorrow.
As per the court proceedings so far, it seems quite plausible that Satoshi Nakamoto’s real identity will remain a mystery, with people continuing to point toward a number of divergent vectors, including the financial behemoth BlackRock and the CIA, for the creation of the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Note:
An earlier version of the article erroneously claimed that the trial was taking place in the US. This error has now been corrected.