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On Monday, during the COPA vs. Dr. Craig Wright trial in London, a witness testified that Wright is "probably the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto", creator of bitcoin. Qudos Bank’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO) David Bridges, testified that Wright worked with the Qudos Bank as an IT expert during the year 2005. He told the Court Wright had given him several documents and papers, which he said "annoyed the hell of me" at the time.
Most of the documents pertained to the forensic and IT services Wright performed for the Australian mutual fund bank, Bridges said.
Bridges had previously stated that Wright proposed a system that could replace the traditional SWIFT network.
The trial, which is expected to continue through March, represents a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto and the foundational elements of bitcoin. The case will continue for the next 5 weeks.
"COPA's strategy aimed to dismantle Wright's claims through meticulous questioning and the presentation of evidence that questioned the authenticity of documents Wright had produced to support his claim to the Satoshi identity," writes Susie Violet Ford of Forbes.
Following Bridges testimony, Wright’s cousin, Max Lyman, was called to the stand next. Lyman confirmed that Wright had asked him to ‘run some code’ on his computer, which was not up to the task at the time. Lyman claimed Wright was running an eCommerce business at the time.
Lyman also revealed that he got the Bitcoin whitepaper but was curious about it coming from Wright.
From the court transcipt:
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 cryptocurrencies?
W. Detailed no. But fundamental from an IT systems perspectives.
Another key witness, Stefan Matthews, Chairman and CEO of nChain Group, also supported the notion that Wright is Satoshi.
Calvin Ayre, a billionaire investor in the nChain platform and leading proponent of the BSV blockchain, offered his take on Matthews witness testimony.
"If the judge did not know COPA was a fraud after they turned down Craig's generous offer to settle…he does now. I am even more convinced that Craig has already won this case. This is going to change things...but COPA will continue to attack Craig even when they lose this as this is about killing competition not about who is Satoshi and that fight will go on."
The trial continues on Wednesday.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
