Alleged bitcoin inventor on trial

An Australian man went on trial in London this week over his claims of inventing bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency with a current market capitalization of $880 billion, according to specialist website Coingecko.

Computer scientist Craig Wright, 53, says he is “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the pseudonym of bitcoin’s creator and author of a white paper that introduced the cryptocurrency to the world in 2008.

He is being sued by cryptocurrency activists who say he’s lied and forged documents in his attempts to pretend he is bitcoin’s founder.

The proceedings at London’s High Court are expected to last until mid-March.

The enigmatic Australian programmer describes himself on X as “Creator of Bitcoin” and insists he has the required skills and knowledge to have invented it.

Crypto Open Patent Alliance, a non-profit organization set up to keep cryptocurrency technology free from patents, is suing Wright over his claims first made in 2016.

WITH AFP