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Craig Wright: I Can Sink Bitcoin Price Because I’m a $6B Whale, Baby!

Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:39 PM
Samantha Chang
Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:39 PM

Self-proclaimed bitcoin inventor Craig Wright remains defiant after a judge ordered him to turn over 50% of his 1.1 million-bitcoin trove to the estate of his late business partner Dave Kleiman.

Using today’s bitcoin price, that entire stash is worth more than $10 billion.

“The judge ordered me to send just under 500,000 BTC over to Ira,” Wright told Modern Consensus . “Let’s see what it does to the market. I wouldn’t have tanked the market. I’m nice.”

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart’s order is not final until federal judge Beth Bloom (who’s the presiding judge over the Kleiman lawsuit) accepts his ruling.

Craig Wright: ‘I’m the *sshole Satoshi’

Despite Judge Reinhart’s Aug. 26 order, Wright gloated that he’s still holding more than $5 billion in bitcoin, so his haters can bite him.

“You think I’m gonna complain because I only get to keep $6 billion and I’m the only surviving member of Satoshi?” Wright said. “The judge ruled it was a partnership. I’m the *sshole Satoshi. And Dave was the nice one. So have a nice day.”

bitcoin inventor dave kleiman craig wright
Dave Kleiman and Craig Wright mined 1.1 million bitcoin before Kleiman’s 2013 death. | Source: YouTube screenshots

Judge: Satoshi Nakamoto was a three-person partnership

According to Wright, Judge Reinhart ruled that Satoshi Nakamoto was a three-person partnership apparently comprised of Craig Wright, Dave Kleiman, and a third person.

“So when Dave Kleiman passed, the partnership transferred to Ira,” Wright explained.

Ira Kleiman is Dave’s brother. As CCN.com reported, Ira filed a $10 billion lawsuit in 2018, demanding that Wright turn over 50% of the bitcoin he had mined with Dave during their partnership.

Ira also wanted 50% of the intellectual property that Dave and Craig collaborated on during the time they had worked together at Florida-based tech company W&K Info Defense Research.

Wright admits that the judge won’t declare that he is Satoshi Nakamoto. However, by ordering Wright to hand over 50% of his bitcoin to Kleiman, the judge apparently seems to agree that Wright was one of the inventors of bitcoin.

bitcoin lawsuit craig wright dave kleiman forged signatures
Dave Kleiman’s estate accused Craig Wright of faking Kleiman’s signatures to take unlawful possession of his bitcoin and intellectual property. | Source: Exhibit 19

Wright: Ira could sink bitcoin price with fire sale

Wright said his haters can gloat all they want, but he’ll get the last laugh if Ira Kleiman floods the market by selling his 500,000 bitcoin (worth more than $5 billion) in order to pay off the inheritance tax on his newly-acquired holdings.

“The courts ruled that Ira inherited the $5 billion,” Wright explained. “Now he has to pay estate tax on that if he wants it.”

The estate tax on $5 billion is roughly $2 billion. Unless Ira has $2 billion on hand, he’ll have no choice but to sell off his holdings to pay his taxes.

Wright is aware that he has many detractors in the crypto community who think he’s a liar. He says he couldn’t care less about them.

Moreover, Wright says that while “everyone wants to hate on me,” he wouldn’t have tanked the market by holding a fire sale that would send the bitcoin price tumbling.

“If you’d left me alone, I would have sat on my f*cking money and you wouldn’t have to worry,” Wright said. “And the biggest whale ever has to dump because he has to pay tax. It’s not a transfer. Florida has an estate tax. Trust me. This is not an outcome I would have liked.”

Wright reminded everyone that he still owns a lot of bitcoin. “Dave should have owned 320,000 and I should have had 800,000. And now it’s 50/50,” he said. “At the end of the day, that’s not a good thing for BTC.”