• Square Crypto has challenged Wright through COPA, an organization it formed last year whose members include Coinbase and Blockstream.
• COPA wants Wright to provide proof that he is Satoshi Nakamoto as part of its response to a cease-and-desist order sent to Square by Wright.

Square Crypto, the cryptocurrency arm of payments company Square, is challenging Craig Wright’s claim to being Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin and the author of its white paper. The firm has sent a letter to Wright, asking him to provide proof that he is Satoshi.

The letter is a response to Wright’s request for Square Crypto to remove download links to the Bitcoin white paper. Wright had started off with BTC developers on Bitcoincore.org and Bitcoin.org whom he demanded to take down the white paper. The former did in fear of the repercussions of a lawsuit.

Square Crypto is now responding to Wright via the Crypto Open Patent Alliance, an organization it formed in September last year. The alliance tweeted that it was hosting the Bitcoin whitepaper and would stand with its members who chose to. Some of its members include Coinbase, Protocol Labs, Blockstream and ARK.

It further attached a letter it had sent to Wright’s legal team, asking him to prove he was Satoshi.

COPA’s letter wants Wright to clarify a number of issues to enable its members to “assess and evaluate [Wright’s claim.”

“Please explain on what basis you assert that your client is the individual behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and is the author of the White Paper,” states the first issue COPA wants clarification on. It also requests for the date and location in which Wright wrote the white paper. COPA also wants to know if Wright wrote the white paper alone. If not, it asked for the names of all the other co-authors.

The battle for the white paper

COPA goes on:

On what basis provided for by any applicable international convention does your client claim to be entitled to UK and other copyrights of the White Paper?

It also wants to know whether Wright was employed at the time of writing the white paper. If so, he must clarify if his work on the white paper fell outside such employment.

COPA has given Wright two weeks, which end on February 19, to respond to the questions. It hopes that such a course of action will keep the matter away from court. However, as some pointed out on social media, Wright’s legal team has no obligation to respond. In addition, Square may have exposed its defense beforehand, if the fight for the white paper ends up in court.

This is the latest twist in what is becoming a defining moment for the future of digital currencies. Wright, who is the chief scientist at nChain, has long claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. Many have dismissed him, including Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin who called him a fraud.

For years, the back and forth has been limited to social media. However, with Wright going to court, it has taken a new dimension. Already, there are those that have heeded his request to take down the Bitcoin white paper.

Wright has indicated that he intends to do much more aside from requesting BTC-affiliated sites take down the white paper. Being in the Bitcoin SV camp himself, he believes that BTC and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) are infringing copyright by using the Bitcoin database. Wright’s legal team stated in its letter to Square Crypto:

We should add that our client, and others associated with him, have further rights relating to the Bitcoin technology and the Bitcoin name. It is their firm intention to enforce such rights in due course.

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