Hodlonaut vs Craig Wright: Is he Satoshi Nakamoto?

Anyone looking for the inventor of Bitcoin always comes across the same name: Satoshi Nakamoto. The problem: It is a pseudonym. Presumably nobody knows his true identity.

The Mystery of Satoshi

For years there has been speculation in the crypto space who the real Satoshi is. Names like Hal Finey and Dave Kleiman have been buzzing around the web for a long time. Australian multi-millionaire Craig Wright even claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin.

This keeps causing quarrels, some of which are ludicrous: just recently, the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast moderator Peter McCormack railed against the “supposed” Satoshi. He called him a swindler, a liar and a moron. Wright sued against it. A British High Court judge ruled that the insults would seriously damage his reputation. McCormack would have to pay only £1 in damages.

Der Fall Hodlonaut versus Craig Wright

In March 2019, the next drama began. A Twitter user known by the pseudonym Hodlonaut published some nasty posts about Wright. In the posts that were later deleted, he accused him of being a liar and a cheat.

The supposed Satoshi hit back and filed a court complaint against his tormentor. A month later, in order to learn the identity of the unsub, he put up a “bounty” of $5,000 in Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV).

A private investigator revealed the real person behind Hodlonaut. He submitted a declaratory judgment in Norway. He is therefore not liable for damages to Wright. Hodlonaut, in turn, sued Hodlonaut for defamation in the UK in June 2019.

Die British judge decided in May this year that no serious damage had been done to Wright’s reputation. Hodlonaut was ordered to pay £112,000 in court costs.

court proceedings currently

A court case lasting several days has been running in Norway since Monday.

Twitter-User @bitnorbert reported live on site about the events. He summarized the first three days of negotiations to BTC-ECHO. Accordingly, the “court would have reserved Norway’s largest courtroom for a full seven days for this case.” The first two days were opening statements from both sides, in which the lawyers went through the evidence they had submitted. “Those days felt a bit long because lawyers reading things out loud aren’t very interesting,” he said.

However, yesterday things developed as we heard cross-examination of the parties – Hodlonaut and Wright. The suspicion was that Wright’s side will try to delegitimize Hodlonaut as a simple cyber bully, and indeed they have tried. But it doesn’t really stick if Hodlonaut can show Wright doing the same.

Twitter user @bitnorbert

In his opinion, it is difficult to say where the judge stands so far. Norway has no jury, only judges. “So ultimately everything is decided by her. She asks critical questions on both sides, as is proper,” he explained.

Personally after yesterday I think she finds it difficult with Wright as he had difficulty explaining many things and got very emotional.

Twitter user @bitnorbert

In the coming days, witnesses from both sides are to appear and make their statements. Incidentally, all those involved are under oath. In Germany, for example, under Section 288 (2) of the Criminal Code, anyone who gives false evidence under oath is punishable with imprisonment from six months to five years.

How important is the case for Bitcoin?

Die #WeAreAllHodlonaut movement, founded in 2019 after the hunt for Hodlonaut, received more attention shortly before the trial. In June, Hodlonaut shared how much money he had already spent fighting CSW.

To support him financially, the DefindingBTC campaign was launched. “Donations are live NOW – we’re aiming for $2.1 million, but every sat counts,” it reads Twitter. For the bitcoin community, this case is about more than just Hodlonaut’s win over Craig Wright. A ruling in favor of the pseudonymous Twitter user would set a precedent. In the future, this could point the way for more Bitcoin-related court cases.

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Many Bitcoiners doubt that the disreputable Australian is really Satoshi Nakamoto. However, Wright continues to defend his position. However, anyone who has done their research homework has known for a long time: We are all Satoshi Nakamoto.