COPA Trial: Craig Wright Was Considered ‘Very Annoying’ Yet ‘Likely’ the Creator of Bitcoin

In the current legal dispute involving the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) and Craig Wright, who claims to be the creator of Bitcoin, notable insights emerged on February 19, indicating that Wright might be the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto.

This insight surfaced during a witness’s testimony, who characterized Wright as “very annoying,” while also recognizing his possible link to the anonymous Bitcoin creator due to his interest in Japanese culture.

Craig Wright’s Involvement with Qudos Bank Revealed

Three principal witnesses were called to testify in the third week of the legal proceedings between COPA and Craig Wright. David Bridges, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Qudos Bank, Max Layman, and nChain co-founder Stefan Matthews took the stand on Monday.

Bridges, the first to be interrogated by COPA’s attorney Jonathan Hough, disclosed that the self-identified Bitcoin creator collaborated with Qudos Bank as an IT specialist around 2005. He mentioned that Wright had provided him with numerous documents and papers, which he found to be ‘very annoying’ at that time.

C: CSW also gave you loads of papers, docs etc,
B: Annoyed the hell of me, yes

— Humble Bit (@Humble_Bit) February 19, 2024

When asked if any of the documents could be classified as a ‘criminal whitepaper,’ as referred to by the COPA attorney, Bridges replied that it was a possibility.

B: I haven’t read all of them.
C: [shows docs] criminal white paper, did he show you this.
B: Possibly

— Humble Bit (@Humble_Bit) February 19, 2024

Providing further details, he indicated that most of the documents pertained to the forensic and IT services Wright provided for the Australian mutual fund bank.

The next focus for the COPA legal team was to determine whether Wright had discussed the concept of a decentralized payment system with Bridges.

In a prior statement, Bridges noted that Wright had suggested a system that could serve as a replacement for the conventional SWIFT network. The Qudos Bank CIO confirmed this but admitted he was not well-versed in the technical specifics of Wright’s proposal.

Q. Your statement: “Craig was proposing a system to replace the Swift network”
W. Oh yeah, that’s it, that’s right
Q. Our understanding is that it allows the sending of money transfer instructions between institutions?. CSW proposed some kind of system to be bolted on that or put…

— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) February 19, 2024

He also noted that he was not yet acquainted with Bitcoin, despite the fact that it was 2010 when the ‘Bitcoin Pizza’ event gained notoriety. Bitcoin Pizza refers to the occasion when early Bitcoin adopter Laszlo Hanyecz exchanged 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas from Papa John’s.

Subsequently, the COPA legal team inquired if Bridges still believed that Wright was Satoshi Nakamoto due to his enthusiasm for Japanese culture, to which he affirmed.

C: in your statement, you said he was satoshi because of his passion for japanese stuff
B: yes

— Humble Bit (@Humble_Bit) February 19, 2024

When questioned about his awareness of other individuals being considered as potential Bitcoin founders, Bridges stated he was unaware and did not keep track of such narratives.

C: did you know there are many other people identified of possible candidates?
B: doesn’t know, doesn’t follow much

— Humble Bit (@Humble_Bit) February 19, 2024

Bitcoin Whitepaper ‘Could Have Been One of Them’

Wright’s cousin, Max Lyman, was the next witness to take the stand. Lyman confirmed that Wright had requested him to ‘run some code’ on his computer, although the computer was not capable of handling it at that time.

Providing additional information, Lyman mentioned that Wright was operating an e-commerce business during that period.

Lyman also disclosed that he received the Bitcoin whitepaper but was intrigued by its origin from Wright. He stated that Wright had sent him multiple documents, and a draft of the whitepaper might have been among them.

Q. You do not recall Craig sending you the Bitcoin whitepaper?
W. Craig sent many documents to me, that could have been one of them
Q. You do not recall that particular document?
W. No. They were all the same type of thing
Q. Do you have a detailed understanding of…

— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) February 19, 2024

He also expressed skepticism regarding Wright being the creator of the leading cryptocurrency.

Stefan Matthews was the third witness to testify, and his association with Calvin Ayre and Wright was discussed.

The co-founder of nChain acknowledged that Ayre was an investor in the nChain platform but denied that he held significant influence over the company despite a 500 million Swiss francs investment.

C: does calvin have significant control of nchain group in uk
M: no, only the holding
C: [missed]M: no, we should list ayre in [missed] holding

— Humble Bit (@Humble_Bit) February 19, 2024

He did, however, concede that he acted as a promoter of Wright’s assertions of being the founder of the Bitcoin network.

C: involved in the big reveal?
M: not managed by me
C: but you spend time, fair to say?
M: spent time in conflict with mcgregor and CSW

— Humble Bit (@Humble_Bit) February 19, 2024

Matthews stated that he did not fund Wright’s legal endeavors and only compensated him as part of standard business operations.

M: i see
C: [missed] were they instructed by nchain?
M: no
C: [missed]M: incorrect.
C: nchain has never funded CSW litigation, directly or not
M: no, …. except by paying salaries

— Humble Bit (@Humble_Bit) February 19, 2024

The ongoing trial between COPA and Wright aims to challenge the latter’s claims of being the founder of the world’s largest blockchain network.

The plaintiff is seeking an injunction from the UK court that would declare Wright is not the legitimate creator of the Bitcoin network.

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