In 2015, Craig Steven Wright boldly asserted himself as Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic inventor of Bitcoin. He presented what seemed to be compelling evidence to validate his claim. However, subsequent investigations and expert scrutiny ultimately debunked his assertions, casting doubt on the authenticity of his self-proclaimed identity as Nakamoto.

While a few initially supported his claim, critics within the Bitcoin community and beyond remained unconvinced, demanding irrefutable evidence to substantiate his extraordinary declaration.

Ego Booster?

WIRED, an esteemed American news and media publisher previously raised the intriguing possibility of Dr. Craig Wright being the mysterious Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, in December 2015.

At that time, Dr. Wright himself made bold claims supporting this notion, possibly driven by a desire to boost his own reputation. However, despite the article's extensive research, which included references to Wright's email exchanges, chat transcripts, and business involvements, these claims were later debunked, revealing the inaccuracy of the initial speculation.

Jack of All Trades

Craig Wright asserts his possession of various academic degrees and certifications, including master's degrees in quantitative finance, law, statistics, information security systems, network & systems administration, IT management, and political science. Additionally, he professes to have obtained a doctorate in business and a Ph.D., as well as a doctorate in theology. However, it was rumored that he had misrepresented his academic credentials.

Wright has served as a distinguished lecturer and esteemed researcher in computer science at Charles Sturt University. He has published numerous scholarly articles, academic papers, and books, and has been a keynote speaker at prestigious conferences on topics encompassing IT, security, and digital currency, particularly Bitcoin.

With all that he has accomplished, it does seem fitting that he might have something to do with Bitcoin's development. Wright himself also claims to be Satoshi on his personal website, and Wired magazine based its claim on an assortment of evidence, from a trove of cached documents to deleted blog posts on Wright's personal site to emails passed onto the editors from his acquaintances.

Alleged Proof

According to publication, Wright used the same email address as Nakamoto for correspondence. There are also published emails from Wright lobbying for regulatory acceptance of Bitcoin to political figures and government agencies. In the emails, they alluded to the possibility of resuscitating Nakamoto, who disappeared after revealing the existence of Bitcoin, to make a case for the cryptocurrency.

"Would our Japanese friend have weight coming out of retirement or not?" it wrote.

In another bit of "proof" was Wright was supposed to have published a blog post announcing Bitcoin's launch on January 10, 2009. The post titled "The beta of Bitcoin is live tomorrow," has since been deleted. Wright also claimed in a conversation with his tax lawyers that he has been running Bitcoin since 2009.

Wright also possessed a streak of anti-authoritarianism like Nakamoto. He subscribed to cypherpunk mailinglist that served to fine-tune and evolve standards for cryptocurrencies. He is also a libertarian who recommends a return to the gold standard, and a fan of Japanese culture.

Prove It

According to experts, Craig Wright needs to prove his claim of being Nakamoto by conducting a Bitcoin transaction or signing a message with Nakamoto's private key. In 2016, he signed a message for Gavin Andersen, but it was later revealed that Wright likely deceived Andersen.

Adding to the murkiness are accusations that Craig Wright misrepresented his academic credentials and lied about his company’s partnerships. In an earlier version of his profile on LinkedIn, Wright stated that he had earned a doctorate from Charles Sturt University in Australia. However, the university told Forbes that it had not awarded a doctorate to him.

Lawsuit

Wright has launched a lawsuit against 13 Bitcoin Core developers and a group of companies, including Blockstream, Coinbase and Block, alleging violation of his copyright to the Bitcoin white paper, its file format and database rights to the Bitcoin blockchain.

The decision reversed a ruling from February 2023 that considered Wright's arguments insufficient to show how the Bitcoin file format was first recorded, a concept known as fixation in copyright law.

In a tweet on July 20 2023, Wright wrote, without mentioning the decision: "The legal protection of intellectual property is necessary to ensure the rights of creators and innovators and to encourage the production of new ideas, inventions, and creative works."

The Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund (BLDF), the developers' legal representative, argues that Wright has not been able to prove that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the Bitcoin white paper and database.

"Wright has claimed to be Satoshi since at least 2016 without providing a shred of evidence to back up this claim," BLDF noted in a statement, adding that Wright must prove to be Satoshi Nakamoto "before the courts can make a decision on the three primary claims named in the lawsuit."

The case is expected to go to trial in early 2024.

I'm Sorry, Here's $1.29

Craig Wright's legal bid for damages in a libel claim against Peter McCormack has been unsuccessful. Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, was offered just $1.29 in compensation.

The London Court of Appeal ruled that this minimal amount was justified due to the false claims made by Wright. Wright expressed disappointment over the impact of online criticism on his wellbeing. High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain was "clearly right to treat Dr Wright’s lies and deception as ‘disreputable facts that are properly before the court',” Lord Justice Mark Warby said in a ruling dated July 26. "Where the libel was an accusation of dishonesty, the dishonest conduct of the litigation was relevant for that purpose.”

In a separate U.K. case, judges ruled that Wright must pay 400,000 pounds in security forlegal costs to pursue his claim that crypto exchanges Kraken and Coinbase are breaching his intellectual property by allowing trading in bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH).

Kleiman vs. Wright

The appeal against Craig Wright, who has consistently claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, has been denied.

The focus now shifts back to the ownership dispute over W&K through Wright's wives' court cases. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court upheld the denial of a new trial, emphasizing deference to the district court.

During the trial, evidence about Ira Kleiman's relationship with his late brother was limited to avoid prejudice impacting the jury's decision.

To avoid undue prejudice, the jury was not informed about the sibling relationship between Ira Kleiman and his late brother. However, there were allegations that Wright's counsel breached this order. The Estate requested a new trial, but the district court determined that the alleged violations were not significant enough to warrant one.

The court's ruling indicated that the trial's outcome was unlikely to have been swayed significantly by the alleged infractions.

In April 2022, the estate of the late computer scientist filed an appeal against a Florida court decision that favored Craig Wright. The case revolves around intellectual property rights associated with Bitcoin, as well as a significant amount of cryptocurrency, currently valued in the billions of dollars. The estate of David Kleiman was initially granted $143 million but was denied ownership of the more valuable Bitcoin holdings.

The lawsuit, initiated by Ira Kleiman in 2018 on behalf of the estate, claims that the disputed Bitcoin is worth over $10 billion. Presently, the 1.1 million Bitcoins involved in the case hold a staggering value of over $47 billion. At the core of the disagreement lies the question of who mined these Bitcoins.

Wright maintains that he is the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto, a claim that remains heavily contested within the industry.