Aussie geek claims to have invented Bitcoin – and UK court will finally decide if he’s telling the truth

AN Australian man’s claim that he invented Bitcoin is to be investigated by top UK judges.

London’s High Court has allowed computer scientist and businessman Craig Wright to serve a copyright infringement lawsuit against the operator and publisher of bitcoin.org.

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PA:Press Association

Computer scientist and businessman Craig Wright claims to have invented Bitcoin[/caption]

The anonymous entity behind the informational website calls itself Cobra over Twitter or a generic email address.

Wright can now try and pursue his case — titled Wright v Person(s) unknown, “Cobra”.

The defendant might be resident abroad and has not disclosed a name, identity or address, according to court filings issued on Wednesday.

The dispute could force the court to rule on whether Wright, who alleges he invented the cryptocurrency, is indeed its inventor.

Alamy

Bitcoin is a digital currency created using complex calculations carried out by computers[/caption]

Bitcoin was the first decentralised currency – a digital currency created or “mined” using complex calculations carried out by computers.

It was created in 2008 by an unidentified coder known only as Satoshi Nakamoto.

The case hinges on who wrote bitcoin’s white paper, which first outlined the technology behind the currency under the Nakamoto pseudonym.

The identity of Nakamoto has long been a hot topic and Wright’s claim is fiercely disputed, not least by Cobra.

“Bitcoin.org isn’t based in the UK and Craig’s copyright claims over the whitepaper can be easily verified to be false … ,” Cobra messaged Wright’s lawyers Ontier over Twitter on January 20, according to court filings.

Wright, who is resident in Britain and alleges he has the evidence to support his claims, accuses Cobra of wrongfully controlling the bitcoin.org website and demanded that it remove the white paper.

AP

Whoever created Bitcoin is worth an estimated $59billion based on estimated holdings, making them richer than billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg[/caption]

“The case will turn on whether the court is satisfied that Dr Wright did indeed author – and owns the copyright in – the White Paper and, therefore, that he is Satoshi Nakamoto,” said Simon Cohen, a lawyer at Ontier, representing Wright.

A statement published on bitcoin.org on January 21 dismissed the claims as “without merit”

Reached by email, Cobra said: “We’ve been threatened to take down the Bitcoin white paper by someone who obviously isn’t the inventor of Bitcoin (if he was, that would make him the 25th richest person in the world, which he obviously isn’t).

“Seems like he’s trying to abuse the UK courts to make them try to censor the white paper and harass small websites like us providing education content with his behaviour.”

It remains unclear whether Cobra will reveal its identity to defend the claim and avoid risking any default judgment in Wright’s favour.

The identity of Bitcoin’s creator remains unconfirmed and the search to unmask them has a colourful history.

The now iconic white paper that unleashed the cryptocurrency upon the globe said the elusive Nakamoto lived in Japan and was born in 1975.

The world’s media thought they had found their Satoshi Nakamoto in 2014.

Apparently, he was Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, a computer engineer living in Temple City in Los Angeles County.

The Japanese-American man firmly denied that he was the shadowy force behind the infamous cryptocurrency, and the plot thickened.

It soon emerged that computer scientist Hal Finney, who was the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction, lived a “few blocks” from the seemingly-oblivious Nakamoto.

Forbes journalist Andy Greenberg attempted to interview Finney at his home – despite Finney battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Reuters

Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, pictured surrounded by reporters outside his home in Temple City, California, in May 2014 after reports suggested he was Bitcoin’s anonymous creator[/caption]

The terminal disease rendered the crypto-community enthusiast “locked” in his body and unable to speak or move his muscles.

Greenberg believes Finney, who appeared amused when the journalist asked if he knew Nakamoto, was either the ghostwriter for the Bitcoin creator or simply used his neighbour’s name as a moniker.

But that’s not all. Finney also knew “decentralised currency enthusiast” and scientist Nick Szabo who penned a paper on “bit gold” way back in 1998 and was said to be a fan of pseudonyms.

Szabo also confirmed in 2011 that only he, Finney or Wei Dai – creator of Bitcoin precursor B-Money – could have been responsible for the digital currency.

In 2013, financial author Dominic Frisby suggested that Szabo penned the 2008 white paper and even appeared on television discussing his claims.

But Szabo emailed Frisby, writing: “Thanks for letting me know. I’m afraid you got it wrong doxing me as Satoshi, but I’m used to it.”

A number of people have since stepped forward to claim they’re the real Nakamoto, including Wright.

In other news, Bill Gates recently issued a stark warning to anyone thinking of dipping their toes into the murky world of Bitcoin.

Fears have been raised that Bitcoin “whales” could trigger a currency crash after it was revealed just 2,500 people control nearly half of the market.

And, a hacker has reportedly demanded a huge ransom after trapping the penises of people using internet-controlled chastity cages.

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