Craig Wright Hearing Day One: Court Told Claims Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto are “A Brazen Lie…That Strays Into Farce”

Key Takeaways

• A legal battle between Craig Wright and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) kicked off on Monday
• Lawyers for COPA depicted Wright’s attempts to claim the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto as an elaborate fraud.
• The organization has attempted to cast doubts on the authenticity of Wright’s evidence.

The first day of a legal showdown between the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright, and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) was characterized by incendiary allegations and fierce disagreement over the facts at hand. 

Court filings show that the defense intends to argue that Wright has produced “clear evidence” that he invented Bitcoin . Meanwhile, COPA’s lawyer Jonathan Hough spared no punches, accusing Wright of “forgery on an industrial scale.” 

Wright Accused of Using ChatGPT to Produce Forgeries

During a hearing at London’s High Court of Justice on Monday, February 5, Hough called Wright’s claim that he invented Bitcoin “a brazen lie” and “an elaborate false narrative,” supported by forged evidence. 

Remarking that “there are elements of Dr Wright’s conduct that stray into farce,” he even suggested that the Australian computer scientist had used ChatGPT to produce the alleged forgeries.

Over the years, accusations of forgery have often clouded Wright’s attempt to assert his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto. 

For instance, in a previous lawsuit, Wright presented a list of Bitcoin addresses he claimed ownership of as evidence in his complain t against W&K Info Defence. However, a message that the actual owner cryptographically signed stated  that the address “does not belong to Satoshi or to Craig Wright.” “Craig is a liar and a fraud,” they added. 

Now as the COPA lawsuit unfolds, Wright’s credibility is once again being questioned.

COPA Seeks to Undermine Wright’s Photo Evidence

In a statement  submitted to the court responding to evidence provided by Wright, COPA has cast doubt on the authenticity of photographs purporting to show communications with the lawyer Denis Mayaka.

The filing alleges that emails between Dr. Wright and Mayaka were forged and that the “Papa Neema” Gmail account allegedly belonging to Mayaka was “set up by Dr Wright for the purpose of creating evidence.” 

According to the expert statement, photographs Wright claims were taken by Mayaka show his own computer screen. Zooming in on the photographs, the filing suggests that Dr. Wright’s photograph can be seen, demonstrating that he was logged into the Chrome browser shown.

The evidence “[appears] to be photos of Dr Wright’s own computer screen, and to have been taken by him while he was actually in the process of creating forged documents,” the statement concludes.

Defense Lawyer: Wright Has Presented “Clear Evidence” he is Satoshi Nakamoto

In court filings submitted ahead of Monday’s session, defense lawyer Anthony Grabiner argued that Wright has produced “clear evidence demonstrating his authorship of the white paper and creation of Bitcoin.”

The centerpiece of Grabiner’s argument appears to be the dubious notion that “if Dr Wright were not Satoshi, the real Satoshi would have been expected to come forward to counter the claim.” As the case progresses, however, he will need to make a more convincing case than that if he wants to counter COPA’s allegations.

About the Author

James Morales

Although his background is in crypto and FinTech news, these days, James likes to roam across CCN’s editorial breadth, focusing mostly on digital technology. Having always been fascinated by the latest innovations, he uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.

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