In the ongoing legal dispute between the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) and Craig Wright, three crucial witnesses who had early encounters with Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, provided their testimonies. These witnesses include Martti Malmi and Mike Hearn, early Bitcoin developers, as well as Adam Back, the creator of Hashcash, the proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm that is vital to Bitcoin’s mining process. The court also examined previously unseen email exchanges between Back and Nakamoto, shedding new light on their communication.

The witnesses presented a challenge to Craig Wright in court. Adam Back, the founder of Blockstream and the creator of Hashcash, was one of the first to testify. In response to Bird & Bird’s legal team’s request, Back revealed a series of emails with Nakamoto. One email from Nakamoto specifically mentioned citing Back’s contribution to the Bitcoin white paper, specifically regarding the PoW concept derived from Hashcash’s mechanism. This citation was included in the original 2008 Bitcoin white paper.

During their email exchange, Back pointed out the similarities between Nakamoto’s concept and Wei Dai’s B-Money. Nakamoto agreed with this observation and subsequently chose to include a citation to Dai in the white paper. Back further contributed to their exchange by sharing a document titled “micromint” with Nakamoto, but didn’t hear back from Bitcoin’s creator until the release of the Bitcoin software. Martti Malmi also provided his insights, initially hesitant to participate. Malmi recalled his early interactions with Nakamoto and mentioned becoming aware of Craig Wright in 2015.

Malmi criticized a complex article written by Wright, describing it as “lengthy, difficult to comprehend, and hard to follow,” perplexed as to why Wright didn’t opt for a simpler proof by signing a message. The Finnish computer scientist also noted Wright’s numerous legal challenges and his unexpected mentions in court. Malmi mentioned that Wright inaccurately referred to him as Norwegian, despite Nakamoto’s clear recognition of his Finnish heritage. Malmi categorically denied several of Wright’s claims made against him, refuting each one.

In another significant testimony, Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn shared his experiences of interacting with Wright, including a memorable dinner with Jon Matonis. Initially, Hearn provided Bird & Bird law firm with emails from Wright dating back to 2014 and 2016. The opportunity for a face-to-face meeting arose when Matonis invited Hearn to join him and Wright for dinner after a conference, an invitation Hearn accepted to avoid dining alone.

During the meal, Hearn attempted to verify Wright’s claims of being Satoshi by asking questions that only the real Nakamoto could accurately answer. However, Hearn found the attempt “fruitless,” stating, “He failed all of my verification questions.” He described the majority of their conversation as inconsequential small talk. Throughout the dinner, despite Wright asserting his identity as Satoshi, he reportedly struggled to answer Hearn’s questions, displaying a lack of understanding. Hearn observed Wright’s explanations as confusing and filled with inaccuracies, comparing them to “technobabble from Star Trek,” indicating a clear disconnect from the knowledge expected of Bitcoin’s creator.

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• Source: Plato Data Intelligence.