Defense attorneys for 12 Bitcoin (BTC) core developers in the lawsuit filed by Craig Wright say the false ownership claims to Bitcoin can expose him to liabilities relating to the 80,000 stolen Bitcoin from Mt. Gox.
Craig Wright claims he is the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto and filed a lawsuit against 12 core Bitcoin developers asserting ownership of 111,000 BTC allegedly stolen from the Mt. Gox exchange.
Wright lays his claims through his company, Tulip Trading Limited but now faces headwinds as the defendants file a preliminary application that pokes holes in the plaintiff’s claims.
Per the filing, the BTC developers argue that Wright is not the owner of the asset, opening a scenario for him to prove ownership of the court sides with the defendants.
According to a statement released on Monday, Wright was accused of fabricating documents laying claims to the assets in court.
“We seek to have this claim struck out on the ground that it is a fraudulent claim and an abuse of process. They seek disclosure and other case management directions to enable this threshold issue of fraud to be determined as a preliminary issue.”
In addition to asking him to prove that the ownership of the assets is in line with his claims, the filing also demands that he makes a payment of $1.6 million as security to cover costs if the case is dismissed.
Wright claims marred with 80,000 BTC ‘theft scenario”
Defense lawyers led by Timothy Ellis also argued that if Wright asserts ownership of those assets, he admits to stealing 80,000 BTC worth approximately $2 billion back in 2014 when the Mt. Gox exchange was hacked.
“It is widely accepted in the cryptocurrency community that the Bitcoin in the 1Feex address originated from a well-publicized hack on a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange that occurred in March 2014. Essentially, it appears that if Dr. Wright is the owner of the Bitcoin in the 1Feex address (which is denied), he has effectively admitted to being the person who stole 80,000 BTC from Mt. Gox.”
The 12 Bitcoin developers are represented by the Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund set up by former Twitter CEO and Bitcoin enthusiast Jack Dorsey.
Meanwhile recently, there was growing speculation on the repayment of Mt. Gox creditor towards the end of October 2024.
Mt. Gox imploded in 2014 after it lost 850,000 BTC due to a security breach with the repayment deadline finally in sight after nine years.
Industry executives like Jacob King, the CEO of WhaleWire opine that most creditors are likely to sell leading to a downward pressure on the market.