Man claiming to be Bitcoin creator testifies in court

Computer scientist Craig Wright told the High Court in London on Tuesday that he is the person behind "Satoshi Nakamoto," the pen name used in the original white paper launching the original crypto currency

An Australian man is testifying in court that he is the creator of Bitcoin.

Computer scientist Craig Wright told the High Court in London on Tuesday that he is the person behind "Satoshi Nakamoto," the pen name used in the original white paper launching the original crypto currency.

Wright is being challenged by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), an organisation of crypto firms seeking to oppose Wright as he attempts to gain control of the intellectual property rights behind the digital currency.

Wright’s claim to be Satoshi is a lie, founded on an elaborate false narrative backed by forgery of documents on an industrial scale, claimed Crypto Open Patent Alliance attorney Jonathan Hough.

He continued: As his false documents and inconsistencies have been exposed, he has resorted to further fabrication and ever more questionable excuses.

Wright has filed three separate lawsuits seeking to block crypto developers from capitalising on Bitcoin after claiming he was the creator in 2016.

The original Bitcoin white paper attributed to the mysterious "Satoshi Nakamoto" was published in 2008 and introduced the idea of crypto currencies as an untraceable, decentralised alternative to traditional money. Satoshi Nakamoto stayed active and collaborated with others in developing the Bitcoin technology through 2010 before largely disappearing from the community.

This allowed me to focus on my work and ensured that the attention remained on the innovation and potential of bitcoin instead of the individual behind it, Wright claimed.

Wright's critics point to a lack of hard evidence confirming his role as Satoshi, inconsistencies in the documents he has submitted as proof, as well as his rejection to publicly move a token amount of Bitcoin to prove his claims.