‘Satoshi’ Countdown: Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Creator Craig Wright Forced to Produce BTC Addresses in Court
The US District Court of the Southern District of Florida has issued self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator, Craig Wright, an order to provide a list of his Bitcoin addresses. There are two days left, as Wright is required to provide the addresses on or before May 8, 2019.
The requirement is part of a case in which Wright has been sued for the alleged theft of 500,000 to 1 million Bitcoin. The coins were equivalent to approximately $5 billion at the time of the lawsuit, filed in February 2018.
According to the order,
“The Court has already found that tracing Dr. Wright’s bitcoin holdings is relevant to the Plaintiffs’ theft claims. The order to produce a list of bitcoin holdings as of December 31, 2013, was a compromise; it was the Court’s attempt to provide Plaintiffs with relevant and material evidence without unduly burdening Dr. Wright. That Dr. Wright now argues it is not feasible for him to identify the bitcoin he held on December 31, 2013, does not diminish Plaintiffs’ entitlement to the pertinent evidence.”
…
“On or before May 8, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, Dr. Wright shall provide to Plaintiffs a sworn declaration identifying the name and location of the blind trust, the name and contact information for the current trustee and any past trustees, and the names and contact information of any current or past beneficiaries.”
The lawsuit was filed by the estate of Dave Kleiman, a deceased entrepreneur. His estate claims that Wright swindled Kleiman during their years-long partnership creating, mining and developing intellectual property for Bitcoin.
The order issued on May 3 shifts the burden to Wright to produce evidence proving his ownership of the Bitcoin in question, despite his objections that the addresses are held in a blind trust. Such evidence could also serve to corroborate Wright’s claim that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.
Writing in a Medium blog post dated April 3, Wright declares,
“I told you to be careful in what you wanted and what you wished for, because you’re going to get it. I am the person behind the moniker Satoshi Nakamoto, and as a result of all the trolls and haters, I’m going to provide evidence. Not in a way that anonymous cowards would do. I’m going to use courts and law.
Welcome to law.”
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