The trial of the Australian who says he invented bitcoin has the crypto world glued

by Gabriella Gordon November 2, 2021

If cryptocurrency enthusiasts are expecting a three week trial in Miami federal courts to establish Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity, they may be disappointed. However, curious people will still be interested in watching Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist and self-described creator of bitcoin , fight for his share of $US65 billion ($86.4 trillion) of peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. He is also accused of defrauding the estate of a Florida man who died of fraud.

Dave Kleiman’s brother, Dave Kleiman, died in 2013. He claims that Wright was part of the early development and creation of bitcoin. The estate has half the value of the cache, which is believed to have been held by Satoshi. It is valued at $US625,545 per piece as of October 29. It is not known if the stash can be recovered.

Many prominent investors and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs view Wright as a fraud and believe Satoshi’s inexplicable anonymity is part and parcel of the genius behind bitcoin. This competitive advantage has been a result of an innovation that has attracted scrutiny and ire from many governments. Wright has stood firm to his claim, even though he was sued by critics who called him an impostor.

The Kleiman case doesn’t primarily concern whether Wright is Satoshi. The trial begins Monday at 10:00 AM (US Time) and ends with jury selection. It will be about whether there was a business partnership between Wright, Kleiman, or before Kleiman’s death.

Aaron Brown, a cryptocurrency investor and writer for Bloomberg Opinion, said Wright is clearly ‘an important early pioneer in cryptocurrency’. “Beyond that his claims of being the primary or sole author of the original Bitcoin white paper are not supported.

Crypto enthusiasts will follow the trial, despite their skepticism. Satoshi speculation is a favorite hobby of the crypto community. Last month, venture capitalist Peter Thiel joined the fray, speculating about whether Satoshi was actually on the same beach in Anguilla as him in February 2000. Whatever Satoshi may be, he/she probably has enough bitcoin to significantly sway market prices.

Wright was the first to file the Kleiman estate complaint against Wright almost three years ago. However, the case has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emails found in court records indicate that the men had a close relationship. Wright described Kleiman as his best friend in one message. Kleiman’s brother Ira will attempt to prove that they were a business partner.

This has involved a reexamination on events such as the Thanksgiving dinner conversation in 2009. Ira Kleiman testified that Dave said to him during the holiday meal that something was ‘bigger’ than Facebook before he created the famous bitcoin logo. It is a B with two lines in it, in the manner of a money sign.

Wright’s testimony could be pivotal. The Kleiman estate had earlier accused Wright of “a sustained pattern of perjury and forged evidence”, misleading filings, obstruction, and other crimes.