Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Creator Craig Wright to Take the Stand in Kleiman Lawsuit

Steve Shadders, who sees the "Satoshiness of Wright," will testify as a factual witness alongside Wright himself.

AccessTimeIconJun 26, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. UTC
Updated May 2, 2022 at 3:51 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Craig Wright filed an intention to call witnesses at his upcoming deposition scheduled for June 28, the latest update in the ongoing Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit.

Bitcoin’s alleged creator called upon two expert witnesses, a fact witness, and himself to testify at the federal evidentiary hearing, which will begin at 9 a.m. This can potentially lead to Wright’s cross-examination.

Wright already faces the possibility of being placed in contempt of court at either the civil or criminal level for failing to disclose a full list of his bitcoin holdings gained prior to Dec. 31, 2013, per a court order, according to the plaintiff's representation.

The nChain chief scientist allegedly mined a hoard of more than 1.1 million bitcoins with Dave Kleiman between 2009 and 2011, which are said to be stored in the “Tulip Trust.” Ira Kleiman is suing on behalf of his brother’s estate for half of the fair market value of those coins, as well as rights to his brother’s intellectual property.

According to the court document, Brett Roberson, Director AlixPartners in Dallas, Texas, will provide sworn testimony regarding digital forensics and PGP signatures. Roberson’s range of experience also covers detection of intellectual property theft, analysis of a computer user's actions over specific time periods, and recovery of deleted files, according to his CV, attached to the filing as Exhibit 1.

Wright previously said the Tulip Trust is inaccessible due to a cryptographic scheme called Shamir's Secret Sharing Algorithm.

The second expert witness, Kevin Madure, former IBM consultant and VP of cybersecurity at AlixPartners, will testify to cryptography, cryptocurrencies and blockchain as it pertains to this case.

Steve Shadders, CTO of nChain, will testify as a fact witness. Shadders previously published a blog post titled “On the Satoshiness of Dr Craig S Wright,” where he argued that Wright is probably Satoshi Nakamoto. He writes based on his experience working with Wright, although he allegedly turned down the opportunity to view conclusive evidence:

“I have seen so much evidence that #craigissatoshi that it is a no brainer to me. It is not something I believe it is something I know as an iron-clad and indisputable fact. So much so that when I was offered the opportunity to see a private cryptographic proof, without even thinking I said "No, I don't need to see it" and the conversation ended there.”

“Not to be outdone,” said Palley, a lawyer who follows the case but is uninvolved, Wright has also called himself as a factual witness. He tweets:

Witness stand photo via Shutterstock

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.