Why the Kleiman vs. Craig Wright Court Case Really Matters

Last week, a historical court case kicked off in Miami, Florida. At the heart of the case is the ownership of 1.1 million Bitcoin Core tokens (BTC), worth approximately $65 billion. 

As a super quick summary, here’s how we got to this point: 

• Craig Wright is an Australian-born computer scientist (amongst a host of other qualifications and vocations). Since 2016, he’s claimed he is the mastermind and inventor of Bitcoin technology, having penned the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008. 
• Ira Kleiman is the brother of the late Dave Kleiman. Ira claims that Dave was instrumental in the creation of Bitcoin, was partners with Wright, and as such, his estate has a right to a share of the 1.1 million Bitcoin Core (BTC) tokens mined in the early days. 
• Craig has confirmed that he and Dave were friends and worked on projects together, however, he refutes that the Kleiman’s have any claim over the coins, as he denies a formal partnership ever existed. 

But the outcome of this case has more far-reaching implications than the ownership of the “Satoshi bitcoins”, because interestingly, what’s not contested is that Craig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto. In fact, by the very nature of the case brought against him, it may be the proof his sceptics have demanded for years! 

As the court case coverage starts filtering into even mainstream media, I asked Michael Hudson, Bitstocks Founder and CEO, his thoughts on the crucial aspects of the case and its result. Here’s what he had to say. 

3 Key Outcomes of the Craig Wright Court Case 

£65 Billion in Coins, but £315 Billion in Intellectual Property

While the case essentially deals with the ownership of the “Satoshi Coins”, the outcome of the case will actually determine the ownership of the intellectual property around Bitcoin technology, which is claimed to be valued at around £315 billion.

Source: @btchudson Instagram stories - 7 November 2021

Despite Outcome “Satoshi Bitcoins” Will Move 

Craig has stipulated that irrespective of the outcome of the case, the “Satoshi bitcoins” will move. This can be done in two ways; either manually by Craig, or by way of a court order. 

Craig has committed to a sizable donation to the Veterans Association (where Dave spent most of his final months while battling MRSA). Keeping his promise means he’ll need to access and move the coins himself. Alternatively, should the court find in favour of the plaintiff, the coins could move by way of a court order. 

Reconditions “Your Keys are Your Coins”

Many are of the opinion that holding the keys to a wallet not only proves ownership of the coins but also gives absolute control over the movement of those coins. If, as above, a court order is issued, it will prove that coins can be moved in the absence of private keys, provided a majority of miners abide by the court order and confirm the transaction on-chain. By extension, this proves that bitcoin is law-abiding and legally enforceable. 

If you’re interested in following the daily revelations of the case, I recommend you follow the Kleiman vs Wright coverage on CoinGeek, or catch up with daily lunchtime and special report videos by Kurt Wuckert Jr on their YouTube channel. 

Support for Satoshi (and his Vision) 

If you’ve followed Bitstocks for any period of time, you’ll likely know that Michael has never been shy with his support for Craig Wright being the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. 

Source: @btchudson Instagram stories - 7 November 2021

Back in March 2019, he penned an article around his (then) rather controversial tweets stating, unequivocally, that Craig Wright is Satoshi, giving the reasons he knows (not believes) to be true. 

And although not his first appearance on our Bitstocks Podcasts, Michael enjoyed sitting down again with Craig in May of this year in the episode entitled Introducing Satoshi Nakamoto - The Creator of Bitcoin. 

NOT Financial Advice; Do Your Own Research 

While we don’t provide financial advice and we absolutely encourage extensive research and informed investing practices, we can’t help but wonder how this court case may impact the price of bitcoin in the coming weeks, months and even years.

If Craig is verified by a court of law as the creator of Bitcoin it would mean that Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) is the implementation of the true, original Bitcoin, backed by its inventor. 

Its current price is woefully undervalued, most especially when compared to Bitcoin Core (BTC) that still holds ‘claim’ to the household name of Bitcoin while providing no real utility and little in the way of commercial value. BSV, on the other hand, has been developed to genuinely empower the masses, to offer unlimited scale and stability, and a protocol and infrastructure set in stone that businesses can reliably build upon.