The Bitcoin white paper has been uploaded back to Bitcoin.org restores white paper after Craig Wright’s failed attempt to establish his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto, the protocol’s pseudonymous developer. Bitcoin.org’s maintainer, Hennadii Stepanov, declared that the white paper is back by posting a link to the PDF on platform X.
In the past, Bitcoin.org restores had to restrict access to the white paper for people in the UK due to legal restrictions. Information is easy to transmit but hard to censor, as Satoshi Nakamoto eloquently put it in a quotation that decorated the site.
Wright Won Copyright Infringement Case Against Cobra
The anonymous group running the website, Cobra, was sued for copyright infringement in 2021 by Craig Wright, who ultimately prevailed. Because of this, Bitcoin.org had to take down the white paper PDF, and Cobra had to pay £35,000 ($40,000) in legal fees as they decided not to defend themselves. In 2019, Wright registered the Bitcoin white paper for copyright in the US.
In 2023, Wright took his legal proceedings a notch higher by suing 13 Bitcoin Core developers and many corporations, such as Blockstream, Coinbase, and Block, for alleged copyright infringement over the white paper’s file format, database rights to the Bitcoin blockchain, and associated matters. As a countermeasure, the Bitcoin Legal Defence Fund highlighted the trend of hostile litigation leveled against prominent Bitcoin advocates.
These cases inhibit open development because they add stress, price, and time to the process and pose legal concerns. But now that his claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto and the author of the white paper have been thoroughly debunked. Wright’s copyright triumph doesn’t mean much anymore.
An all-encompassing ruling was issued after the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) sued Wright. An alliance of notable businesses sought to stop Wright from claiming ownership of the fundamental intellectual property of Bitcoin. According to COPA, Wright concocted a complex web of lies and forgeries to bolster his case as Nakamoto.
In addition, to prevent Craig Wright from avoiding paying court expenses, a court in the United Kingdom froze his assets, which were worth £6.7 million ($8.4 million). The Bitcoin white paper is now open source and licensed under. The MIT license means anyone can use it or make changes to it.
Nakamoto may be a Collective Entity.
At the same time, new evidence suggests that Nakamoto might be a group. Some evidence indicates a team could be working under a single pseudonym. The Bitcoin white paper uses “we” and “I” to describe the group. Linguistic examination of Nakamoto’s works provides additional proof.
Perfect grammar, spelling, and utilization of technical words are on display in this white paper. The fact that Nakamoto’s writing style varies throughout forums and email correspondences suggests that many people were active.
FAQs
Who is Craig Wright in relation to Bitcoin?
Craig Wright claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s creator, but his claim has faced significant legal and public skepticism.
What is the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA)?
COPA is an alliance working to protect Bitcoin’s intellectual property from claims like those made by Wright to prevent proprietary control over open-source innovations.
Why was the white paper uploaded again to Bitcoin.org?
Following Craig Wright's failed claim as Bitcoin’s creator, Bitcoin.org restored the white paper to affirm its open-source status.
Is Satoshi Nakamoto a single person?
Some evidence suggests Nakamoto could be a group, as linguistic patterns in the white paper and other writings vary.
