Craig Wright, a computer scientist who claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin, won a civil trial judgment against the family of a deceased business partner who claimed it was entitled to half of a cryptocurrency wealth worth tens of billions on Monday.
Wright did not owe half of 1.1 million Bitcoin to David Kleiman’s family, according to a Florida jury. The jury did grant a joint venture between the two men $100 million in intellectual property rights, which was a fraction of what Kleiman’s lawyers were asking for at trial.
The lead lawyer defending Wright, Andres Rivero of Rivero Mestre LLP, remarked, “This was a fantastic triumph for our side.”
David Kleiman, who was 46 years old at the time of his death, died in April 2013. His family, led by his brother Ira Kleiman, has alleged that David Kleiman and Wright were close friends who collaborated to build Bitcoin.
The trial revolved around 1.1 million Bitcoins, which were worth almost $50 billion at Monday’s prices. These were among the first Bitcoins to be created through mining, and they could only be owned by people or entities who had been engaged with the digital currency since its inception, such as Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s founder.
The bitcoin community will now be watching to see if Wright keeps his pledge to prove he is the rightful owner of Bitcoin. This would support Wright’s assertion that he is Nakamoto, which he initially asserted in 2016.
The case was highly technical, with the jury hearing explanations of the complicated workings of cryptocurrencies as well as the mysterious roots of how Bitcoin came to be in federal court in Miami. Jurors deliberated for a week, constantly questioning lawyers on both sides, as well as the judge, about how cryptocurrencies function and the two men’s business ties. The jurors indicated to the judge that they were deadlocked at one point.
The roots of Bitcoin have always been a bit of a mystery, which is why this trial has gotten so much media attention. During the height of the financial crisis in October 2008, a person or group of persons known as “Satoshi Nakamoto” published a document outlining a framework for a digital currency that would be independent of any legal or governmental authority. A few months later, mining for the currency began, which involves computers solving mathematical equations.
The term Nakamoto which roughly translates to “at the center of” in Japanese was never thought to be the genuine name of Bitcoin’s developer.
A significant percentage of the bitcoin world has questioned Wright’s claim that he is Nakamoto. All Bitcoin transactions are public due to their nature, and the 1.1 million Bitcoin in question have remained untouched since their birth. Members of the Bitcoin community have repeatedly demanded that Wright shift a small portion of the money to a different account to confirm ownership and demonstrate that he is as wealthy as he claims.
Wright and other cryptocurrency experts testified under oath during the trial that Wright owns the Bitcoin in question. If Wright were to win in trial, he claimed he would be able to show his ownership.
W&K Information Defense Research LLC, the two men’s joint venture, claimed it was “gratified” that the verdict awarded the firm $100 million in intellectual property rights. The company built software that established the standard for the industry.
In a joint statement, Vel Freedman and Kyle Roche of Roche Freedman LLP and Andrew Brenner, a lawyer at Boies Schiller Flexner, claimed Wright “refused to give the Kleiman’s their due portion of what (David Kleinman) helped develop and instead stole those assets for himself.”
David Kleiman and Wright were friends and collaborated on work together, according to Wright’s lawyers, but their cooperation had nothing to do with Bitcoin’s inception or early operation.
If Wright prevails at trial, he has stated that he intends to donate a large portion of the Bitcoin riches to charity. Wright’s lawyer, Rivero, confirmed Wright’s plans to contribute a large portion of his Bitcoin income in an interview.
