Dr. Craig Wright destroyed the cryptographic proof that he is Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator. The hard drive contained information he needed to access Satoshi Nakamoto’s private keys.
The entrepreneur revealed on the third day of his court case against Hodlonaut in Norway.
Dr. Craig Wright and his legal team argue that it is “incredibly difficult” for him to provide further cryptographic proof that he is Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator.
In footage of the hearing, provided courtesy of Bitcoin Magazine, he argued that identity is not related to keys — and destroying the hard drive was crucial to ensure that he wouldn’t be forced to cryptographically prove he was Satoshi.
He also passionately argued that Bitcoin is not encrypted, and said:
“I want it known that these lies, these slanderous accusations about how law enforcement can’t take Bitcoin from criminals are wrong.”
In 2019, Hodlonaut accused Dr. Wright of being a fraud and a scammer — and dismissed the entrepreneur’s claims that he was Satoshi Nakamoto.
The legal showdown in Oslo aims to determine whether Hodlonaut’s tweets are protected by freedom of speech.
If a judge rules in Hodlonaut’s favor, this would affect Dr. Wright’s ambition of collecting damages for libel during separate proceedings in London.
Hodlonaut’s real name is Magnus Granath — and back when the tweets were sent, he was working as a public school teacher.
Marie Bjørk Myklebust, representing Hodlonaut, sought to claim that thousands of other tweets that questioned Dr. Wright’s claims were also written—and were posted four months before the posts in question.
She also argued that Dr. Wright himself has also used “strong words, strong statements” in the past — pointing to public remarks where he has branded his critics scum, losers, and frauds… as well as “soy boys” and “cucks.”
But Dr. Wright’s attorneys argue that the fact Hodlonaut used the hashtag #CraigWrightIsAFraud encouraged others to launch their own “toxic” attacks.
Picture courtesy of Bitcoin Magazine’s Livestream.
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