Forgery, plagiarism, and ninja costumes: The bizarre battle over Bitcoin’s origins Forgery, plagiarism, and ninja costumes: The bizarre battle over Bitcoin’s origins
In the first two weeks of the trial, Craig Wright has contradicted his testimony from previous trials and called expert witnesses incompetent.
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Updated: Feb. 17, 2024 at 10:36 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) versus Dr. Craig Wright trial has been going on for ten days, with both sides refuting the other’s claims.
The trial seeks to disprove Wright’s claim that he is the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin — Satoshi Nakamoto.
Here are some key highlights from the trial so far:
Wright denies forging documents
COPA says that Wright’s claims are “a brazen lie” that is “supported by forgery on an industrial scale.” COPA lawyers presented evidence to prove that several documents submitted by Wright had been manipulated or forged.
During his examination on the second day of trial, which CryptoSlate covered in detail, Wright denied the forgery allegations. He said that if he wanted to forge a document, it would be “perfect” and would not have discrepancies.
Wright also claimed that he knew better than the expert witnesses who testified that the documents were forged. The judge, Justice Mellor, described Wright’s responses to COPA evidence as “long,” “rambling,” and in some cases, “irrelevant.”
Evidence of plagiarism
On the second day, COPA lawyers presented evidence to indicate that Dr. Wright plagiarized his dissertation from other research papers.
Wright admitted to having used others’ work but claimed that the appearance of plagiarism was because he had access to the papers before publication. He also blamed it on editors.
Discrepancies evidence and testimony
COPA lawyers pointed out several irregularities and discrepancies between the evidence and testimony provided by Wright in the current and previous trials.
For instance, in a previous trial, Wright testified that he had typed an email to the father of Dave Kleimann stating that Kleimann and Wright were two of the “three key people behind Bitcoin.”
However, earlier this week, Wright said that one of his staff members had typed and sent the email to make Kleimann’s father “proud” of his son. He also stated that he had typed the sentence but not the email.
Lawyers question witness’ reliability
COPA lawyers examined three defense witnesses on Feb. 15. who claimed to have held discussions with Dr. Wright about Bitcoin-related concepts before 2008.
The lawyers argued that the testimony of the witnesses is “hazy” and not reliable since the events took place over 16 years ago.
Wright’s sister testifies
The trial took an even more absurd turn on Feb. 16, when Wright’s sister, Danielle DeMorgan, took the stand to testify.
She told the court about a time when Wright dressed up as a ninja when he was about 18 or 19 years old. DeMorgan also recalled that she had seen him working in a room full of computers in 2007 or 2008.
These incidents, along with the fact that Wright likes Japanese names, were enough to suggest to DeMorgan that her brother was the creator of Bitcoin.
The case is slated to continue on Feb. when more of Dr. Wright’s witnesses will testify. COPA’s witnesses will take the stand on Tuesday. Dr. Wright is scheduled to be cross-examined next Friday.
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Monika Ghosh
In 2020, Monika immersed herself in crypto, maintaining skepticism yet firmly believing blockchain could address key issues like financial disparity and transparency. A book-lover, she's also a passionate food enthusiast.
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Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Craig Steven Wright, commonly referred to as CSW, is an Australian computer scientist and business professional who has been at the center of controversy within the cryptocurrency community.