Satoshi Trial Proves ‘Beyond Doubt’ That Craig Wright Did Not Invent Bitcoin, Says COPA

In closing statements delivered on Tuesday, attorneys for the Crypto Patent Alliance (COPA) accused the self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, Dr. Craig Wright, of committing perjury in his quest to prove that he is, in fact, the famed Satoshi Nakamoto.

“Even when the extent of his dishonesty and forgery was exposed to him in cross-examination, [Wright] doubled down, forging further documents during the trial, blaming a litany of characters, asserting implausible technical excuses, and suggesting a vast and ever-growing conspiracy to frame him—all in an effort to evade his own responsibility,” COPA's legal team led by Jonathan Hough said in documents shared with Decrypt.

Since 2021, Wright has been in a legal battle with the Jack Dorsey-backed COPA and a group of Bitcoin Core developers over his claim that he is Nakamoto and holds copyright over the Bitcoin whitepaper.

The latest trial surrounding Wright’s claims of being Nakamoto began in a UK courtroom on February 5.

In January, before the trial started, Wright offered to settle the intellectual property case with COPA, hoping to avoid a trial and mounting legal costs. COPA shot down the proposal publicly on Twitter.

In COPA's closing remarks, Hough pointed to allegedly forged documents Wright provided to the court that he said proved the Australian computer scientist’s deceit.

“In his evidence, Dr. Wright gave a very large number of excuses for signs of forgery in his documents and for apparent inconsistencies and falsehoods in his own accounts,” Hough said. “These involved making accusations of malicious and dishonest acts, errors, and incompetence against an ever-increasing cast of characters.”

Hough added that Wright accepted the allegation of forgery, including emails, but attempted to blame others for the forgery of what was claimed to be a LaTeX original of the Bitcoin whitepaper.

According to Hough, experts from both sides confirmed that a BDOPC.raw file and all supporting documents critical to Wright’s case were deliberately forged and placed on the drive in September 2023.

“Following the evidence in this trial, it is clearer than ever—clear beyond doubt—that Dr. Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto,” Hough said. “He did not write the Bitcoin White Paper, produce the Bitcoin Code, or implement the Bitcoin system.”

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.