‘No Message Was Signed’: Craig Wright Refutes Tulip Trust Fabrication

Published at: June 4, 2020

Craig Wright maintains that he alone has access to the ‘Satoshi’ Bitcoin addresses filed in court, despite a message apparently signed by 145 of the addresses calling him “a liar and a fraud”.

Wright says anyone that thinks his credibility is now in tatters as a result “doesn’t understand digital signatures at all”.

He is being sued by the estate of his alleged former business partner Dave Kleiman, which is seeking a share of billions of dollars of Bitcoin (BTC) the pair may or may not have mined together.

As part of the case, Wright filed a list of early Bitcoin addresses he claims are his. However, on May 24 an unknown actor posted a message, signed with the private keys to 145 addresses on the file list. This was seized on by the Kleiman estate to suggest the entire list was a fabrication.  

But in an interview with Patrick McLain on REIMAGINE 2020’s YouTube channel on June 3, Wright said: “No message was signed,” refuting the idea that anyone could sign such a message anonymously: 

“You have to either have an identity attribute or an identity to sign in this issue. Someone can’t go and say ‘Hey, I’ve got a key ⁠— I’m signing’. If you think that, then you don’t understand digital signatures at all.”

Wright said that because there was no signature included in the May 24 message, “You can’t have a digital signature that is anonymous... It’s not signing a message.”

Dread Pirate Roberts’ defense

The Kleiman team have argued the list Wright presented to the Court was a forgery, quoting Bitcoin educator Andreas Antonopoulos in their legal motion as saying no message like the one on May 24 could be signed without private keys. 

Wright refuted this directly with McLain, saying the claim was the same as Antonopoulos’ defense of Ross Ulbricht in the Silk Road case:

“It wasn’t signed [...] that was Antonopoulos’ Dread Pirate Roberts’ defense that got kicked out of Silk Road prosecution, saying to sign you have to register a key, and that has to be protected.”

Last week Bitcoin developer Rene Pickhardt said it was possible the signatures could have been exploited: "Of course security might be compromised and the signatures could only be created for this particular message but not for potential coin transfers.”

Twists and turns

The addresses filed with the court — holding Bitcoin mined between May 10, 2009 and January 10, 2010 — have been under intense scrutiny since being leaked from court documents. On May 20 an unknown party moved $486,000 BTC from one of the addresses associated with Wright. 

The case between Wright and Kleiman is still ongoing, with a trial scheduled for July 6 in the Southern District of Florida.

Tags
Regulation
Law
Satoshi Nakamoto
Court
Craig Wright
Related Posts
Craig Wright Won't Need to Pay Hodlnaut $60K Until Appeal Is Over, Says Counsel
Craig Wright, a self-proclaimed Bitcoin (BTC) creator, is apparently not required to pay legal fees for a failed libel suit against the Twitter crypto enthusiast known as Hodlonaut. In an Aug. 14 email to Cointelegraph, Wright’s legal representative argued that he is not obliged to pay legal costs in the defamation suit until the Norwegian Supreme Court considers an appeal. The spokesperson said, “Craig has appealed to the Norwegian Supreme Court. Craig’s Norwegian lawyers say that there is no obligation on Craig to pay the costs until that appeal is dealt with.” The new comments come in response to Hodlonaut …
Bitcoin / Aug. 14, 2020
Craig Wright’s Satoshi Case Goes to Trial July 6
Lawyers representing both sides confirmed to Cointelegraph that they expect the trial to convene on July 6. The case that has been captivating the crypto community for several years now may finally receive a resolution. On May 1, Judge Bloom, who presides over the case, issued a court order for the trial to begin on July 6. More importantly, the lawyers representing both sides confirmed that they are not planning to file any motions that could delay the trial and are eagerly looking to the opportunity to prove their case in court. The war of words between legal teams Dr. …
Bitcoin / May 4, 2020
Wright v. Kleiman Enters Final Act — Document Reveal May Set Precedent
Another episode of the Kleiman v. Wright saga concluded Monday with District Court Judge Beth Bloom ordering Craig Wright to turn over the 11,000-plus documents that Wright had declared “privileged.” Riveting the crypto world for more than two years, the case centers on 1.1 million Bitcoin that may or may not have been mined by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s founder, which may or may not be in a trust controlled by Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto himself. If any Bitcoins are retrieved, Wright may have to share them with the estate of his former business partner, the late …
Bitcoin / April 17, 2020
Judge Slams Craig Wright for Forged Documents and Perjured Testimony
Update March 11: Craig Wright now has until March 12 to produce sufficient documentation detailing the quantity of Bitcoins held by the ‘Tulip Trusts’ and their corresponding Bitcoin addresses. Judge Bruce Reinhart has slammed Craig Wright for producing forged documents and giving perjured testimony during the ongoing litigations between Wright and Ira Kleiman during a hearing concerning the Tulip Trust. Reinhart questioned Wright’s credibility, noting that — in the past — the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto had openly lied to the court: “Particularly given my prior finding that Dr. Wright has produced forged documents in this litigation, I decline to rely …
Bitcoin / March 10, 2020
Craig Wright Uses Falsified Docs to Prove Innocence in Kleiman Case: Report
Self-proclaimed Bitcoin (BTC) creator Craig Wright has allegedly provided fabricated court documents to prove a trust deed with his plaintiffs, as seen from documents revealed by trial lawyer Stephen Palley on Twitter on July 3. According to Palley, the self-styled Satoshi Nakamoto has failed to prove his case by presenting court documents that Palley alleges to be fake, as they contain multiple chronological discrepancies. Among the exhibits filed with the District Court for the Florida Southern District on July 3, there is a document submitted as proof of cooperation between Wright and the now-deceased David Kleiman, whose lawyers filed the …
Bitcoin / July 4, 2019