Craig Wright Presents 164,000 Pages of Evidence in COPA Trial
On February 20, Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, submitted 164,000 pages of new evidence in his ongoing legal battle against the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA). This move is aimed at supporting Wright’s claim that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous founder of the Bitcoin network.
However, skeptics argue that a single transaction signed by the Bitcoin creator would provide conclusive proof of Wright’s claim. They believe that the submission of 164,000 pages of evidence is unnecessary and a waste of resources.
The Genesis Block Transaction
To understand the significance of this ongoing trial, it’s important to note that a 150 byte transaction known as the “genesis block” is considered proof that Satoshi Nakamoto was actively involved in the Bitcoin network from its inception. Skeptics argue that if Wright truly created Bitcoin, he could easily provide this transaction as proof.
Martti Malmi’s Testimony Raises Questions
In addition to Wright’s submission of new evidence, the court called Martti Malmi, an early Bitcoiner and former handler of the Bitcoin.org platform, to testify. During cross-examination by Wright’s legal team, Malmi avoided directly answering whether he had met Wright on May 1, 2009. Instead, he emphasized that he had spoken about Satoshi Nakamoto on that occasion.
Malmi also confirmed that Wright had contacted him on forums about Bitcoin and revealed that he only discovered Bitcoin in April 2009. This testimony raises further doubts about Wright’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
Adam Back’s Testimony
Another witness in the trial was Adam Back, a Blockstream executive who worked on the Bitcoin network in its early days. Wright’s attorney questioned Back about his 1997 HashCash project and its potential connection to B-Money, created by Wei Dai.
Back dismissed the idea that HashCash and B-Money were similar to Bitcoin, stating that B-Money had a reward system for solving cryptographic puzzles, making it closer in concept to Bitcoin. This challenges Wright’s claim that HashCash and B-Money were precursors to Bitcoin.
Hot Take: The Burden of Proof
In the ongoing COPA trial, Craig Wright has presented a massive amount of evidence to support his claim of being Satoshi Nakamoto. However, skeptics argue that a simple transaction signed by the Bitcoin creator would be sufficient proof.
The testimonies of Martti Malmi and Adam Back have also cast doubt on Wright’s claims. Malmi’s evasion of questions about meeting Wright and Back’s dismissal of the connection between HashCash and B-Money raise further questions about Wright’s credibility.
As the trial continues, the burden of proof remains on Wright to provide irrefutable evidence that he is indeed the creator of Bitcoin.
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