Craig Wright Trial: COPA Accuses Him of BTC Forgery

The trial is nearing conclusion with Craig Wright’s team and Bitcoin developers’ representatives set to present closing arguments.

Tuesday began closing statements in the U.K. trial investigating Craig Wright’s claims to have invented Bitcoin.

Wright was accused by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), in its closing arguments, of engaging in perjury as well as forgery.

To establish Craig Wright’s claim to have devised Bitcoin, a crypto alliance accuses the computer scientist of committing forgeries. The coalition intends to request that U.K. prosecutors examine whether Wright fabricated evidence during his ongoing trial.

The conclusion of the weeks-long trial, which seeks to ascertain whether Wright is the alias of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, could have repercussions for several cases he has filed against members of the cryptocurrency community.

On Tuesday, the closing statements of the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which comprises Coinbase, Kraken, and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s Block, were initiated by the counsel for the COPA.

Counsel stated that the evidence presented throughout the trial unequivocally demonstrates that Craig Wright is not Satoshi.

“After reviewing the evidence presented in this trial, it is beyond any reasonable doubt that Dr. Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto; this is more certain than ever.” COPA Counsel Jonathan Hough stated, “He did not produce the Bitcoin code, write the white paper, or implement the Bitcoin system.”

Wright faced allegations of forgery from COPA and a collective of Bitcoin developers regarding his endeavors to establish his identity, as SatCOPA additionally charged Craig Wright on Tuesday with being a “dishonest witness” and attempting “very severe fraud” while providing testimony in court.

Wright later defended emails submitted to the court during the trial containing information about his former attorneys as “spoofed” by unidentified malicious actors.

Additionally, COPA deemed Wright’s admissions that he edited the Bitcoin white paper as recently as November 2023 as “vivid emblems” of his deceit.

The alliance has stated that it will seek “injunctive relief” to prevent Wright from pursuing further action against crypto community members because he is Satoshi. Hopefully, the trial will conclusively demonstrate that Wright is not Satoshi.

Wright has “significantly engaged in perjury and fabrication” to defend the “fiction” that he is Satoshi, according to the closing arguments of COPA.

COPA’s Call for Prosecution of Craig Wright

The alliance will request that the files in this case be referred to U.K. prosecutors “for contemplation of prosecution for perjury and perverting the course of justice,” according to COPA.

A separate group of Bitcoin developers’ legal representatives are scheduled to commence concluding statements on Wednesday. Following that, Wright’s team will begin its closing arguments in anticipation of presiding Judge James Mellor’s decision.