The real identity of bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto could finally be revealed in court soon. Australian computer scientist Craig Wright has been asserting since 2016 that he is the creator of bitcoin, but he will have to prove it at a trial in a London court that started on Monday.

Lawyers Say Craig Wright's Claim That He's the Real Bitcoin Founder Satoshi Nakamoto Is a Lie

As the legal battle over ownership of the cryptocurrency began, Reuters reported that lawyers representing a group backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey told the court Monday that Craig Wright's claim that he's the real Satoshi Nakamoto was "a brazen lie." 

Wright, 54, has been claiming for years that since he was the author of a 2008 white paper, the bitcoin and other digital currencies' foundational text, published under the name "Satoshi Nakamoto," he owns the copyright in the paper and has intellectual property rights over the bitcoin blockchain.

But the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), whose members include Dorsey's payments firm Block, filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Wright, asking London's High Court to rule that he does not own bitcoin's white paper and is not Satoshi.

The group said Wright had not provided any genuine proof and accused him of repeatedly forging documents to support his claim, but Wright denies it.

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London Court to Determine If Craig Wright Is the Real Bitcoin Founder Satoshi Nakamoto

According to Reuters, the five-week hearing is the culmination of years of speculation about the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, who disappeared from the internet over a decade ago.

Craig Wright must provide evidence to the court to prove his claims that he is the person behind bitcoin, and it will start on Tuesday. On Monday, COPA's lawyer, Jonathan Hough, said Wright's claims were "a brazen lie, an elaborate false narrative supported by forgery on an industrial scale."

Wright was sitting inside the court when Hough further cited Wright's alleged use of ChatGPT to produce forgeries. However, Wright's lawyer, Anthony Grabiner, said in court filings that his client has presented "clear evidence" of "his authorship of the white paper and creation of bitcoin."

Grabiner further noted that it was "striking" that no one else had publicly come forward to be Satoshi.

"If Dr. Wright were not Satoshi, the real Satoshi would have been expected to come forward to counter the claim," the lawyer said as Reuters reported.

Satoshi Nakamoto is a fictitious name of the cryptocurrency founder who hid his identity only to vanish in 2011, or two years after he unleashed his digital currency to the world. 

Whoever invented bitcoin is reportedly sitting on a massive stash of cryptocurrency now worth $46 billion, making them one of the world's wealthiest people.

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