An Australian computer scientist, who asserts he is the creator of bitcoin, testified in a London court on Tuesday, refuting allegations that he fabricated documents to support his contentious claim. Craig Wright maintains he authored a pivotal 2008 white paper under the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the foundational piece for bitcoin.
However, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) has brought Wright to court, aiming to prevent him from suing bitcoin developers and uphold the open-source nature of the cryptocurrency. COPA seeks a ruling from London’s High Court to disprove Wright’s assertion as Satoshi Nakamoto, alleging he repeatedly produced falsified documents to back his claim, only to backtrack when the fabrications were uncovered.
Wright denies relying on fraudulent records, shifting blame to former lawyers and associates for any fabricated documents. The 54-year-old commenced the first day of his testimony in a high-stakes hearing, marking the culmination of years of speculation surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity.
During questioning, COPA’s lawyer, Jonathan Hough, queried Wright about forging or falsifying documents to support his claim as Satoshi Nakamoto, to which Wright adamantly denied any wrongdoing.
Numerous alleged forgeries were presented to Wright, including an academic paper with handwritten notes that Wright cited as influencing his choice to adopt the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. COPA contends that the document contains a forged timestamp, with visibly different fonts to suggest it predates the bitcoin white paper.
In response, Wright maintained his innocence, asserting he did not forge the document and stating, “If I forged that document, it would be perfect.”
