COPA claims visible forgery in Craig Wright’s Bitcoin origin document

On the second day of the Craig Wright v. COPA trial, the plaintiff claimed that Wright had forged the date in his infamous “Nakamoto is the Japanese Adam Smith” document.

This document is pivotal to the case, as Wright showed it in a video back in 2019, where he claimed to be Bitcoin’s originator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The date stamp on the document shows that it was from 2008, before the Bitcoin whitepaper was published. 

COPA highlighted that the numeral “08” in the document’s date appeared smaller than the “20” and was not aligned properly, suggesting the document might have been altered or forged. Wright acknowledged the visual discrepancies but maintained the document’s authenticity, stating it had been in his possession for a long time and he couldn’t recall its origin.

Wright also mentioned not personally managing his Twitter account, which had claimed the document was authentic.

COPA presented findings from Mr. Madden, an expert who compared the document to versions found in online archives. Madden noted alignment issues and differences in footers compared to those typical of the 2008 period, which Wright disputed by arguing about the variability of database formats.

Wright rejected the suggestion that COPA’s expert found the original document, saying it was part of the effort to discredit him. He also emphasized that if the document were forged, it would have been done flawlessly, suggesting he wouldn’t make such amateurish mistakes.

Bitcoin domain and email: You claim you paid Anonymous Speech? Yes.

COPA shows Wright's "Evidence and law" article. Wright confirms he wrote it, but doesn't control it. COPA quotes from it. "I used my credit card." Wright confirms he wrote that.

— Norbert ⚡️ (@bitnorbert) February 6, 2024

The trial is set to continue with further testimony and cross-examination. The proceedings are expected to last several weeks, with both parties prepared for a lengthy legal battle​. 

The legal dispute started in 2016 when Dr. Craig Wright, originally an Australian computer scientist, publicly claimed to be Nakamoto and asserted intellectual property rights associated with Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) filed a lawsuit against Wright, seeking a court declaration that the Bitcoin whitepaper is public domain material and that no individual has copyright claims over it or the ‘Bitcoin’ name. 

Major crypto stakeholders formed the COPA to prevent patent aggression and ensure open access to the technology.