The Guardian: ‘Craig Wright’s claim he invented bitcoin a ‘brazen lie’, court told’
“An Australian computer scientist’s claim to be the author of the founding text of bitcoin is a “brazen lie”, the high court has heard.
Craig Wright’s assertion that he is the pseudonymous author Satoshi Nakamoto was at the centre of a trial that began on Monday, where the 53-year-old is being sued by a group of cryptocurrency exchanges and developers.
Jonathan Hough KC, representing the Crypto Patent Alliance [Copa], told the high court that Wright’s claim was a “brazen lie and elaborate false narrative supported by forgery on an industrial scale”. Copa, which is backed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, is seeking a “negative declaration” that Wright is not Nakamoto.
Elements of Wright’s conduct were reminiscent of a “farce”, said Hough, including the alleged use of ChatGPT to produce forgeries to back up his claims. Nevertheless, Hough said, Wright’s insistence that he was Nakamoto – a claim he first made in 2016 – had “deadly serious” consequences for individuals who had faced legal action based on his claims.
Hough said: “On the basis of his dishonest claim to be Satoshi, he has pursued claims he puts at hundreds of billions of dollars, including against numerous private individuals.”
In written submissions, Hough added: “Dr Wright has consistently failed to supply genuine proof of his claim to be Satoshi: instead, he has repeatedly proffered documents which bear clear signs of having been doctored.””