Bitcoin Creator Craig S. Wright (Satoshi Nakamoto) Granted US Copyright Registrations for the Bitcoin White Paper and Code

LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Craig S. Wright has been granted U.S. copyright registrations for the famed original Bitcoin white paper, and most of the original Bitcoin code (version 0.1).  Importantly, the registrations issued by the U.S. Copyright Office recognize Wright as the author – under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto - of both the white paper and code.  This is the first government agency recognition of Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.  In addition to being Bitcoin's creator, Wright is currently Chief Scientist of nChain, the global leader in advisory, research and development of blockchain technologies, which focuses on massive adoption of Bitcoin in the form of Bitcoin SV (Satoshi Vision).

The pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto was used as author of the Bitcoin white paper, first posted online in 2008, and as author of the first Bitcoin code used in January 2009.  Over the past 10 years, the true identity of Bitcoin's creator has been the subject of intense curiosity.  In late 2015 and early 2016, certain media outlets reported belief that Craig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto, leading to significant debate since then.

Notably, when reviewing Wright's copyright applications, the U.S. copyright examiner was aware that the Bitcoin white paper and code were each a "famous work" and there have been questions about who is associated with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.  After receiving confirmation from Wright that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the Copyright Office granted the following registrations:

• U.S. copyright registration no. TXu 2-136-996, effective date April 11, 2019, for the paper entitled Bitcoin:  A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, with year of completion 2008. The registration recognizes the author as Craig Steven Wright, using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
• U.S. copyright registration no. TX-8-708-058, effective date April 13, 2019, for computer program entitled Bitcoin, with year of completion 2009 and date of first publication January 3, 2009.  The registration recognizes the author as Craig Steven Wright, using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.  Wright wrote most of version 0.1 of the Bitcoin client software, and the registration covers the portions he authored.

Wright is now legally establishing that he is Bitcoin's creator after being dismayed to see his original Bitcoin design bastardized by protocol developer groups – first by Bitcoin Core [BTC] in 2017 and then again by Bitcoin Cash [BCH] developers in 2018. Those non-Satoshi protocol changes were made by developers who disagreed about whether or how the blockchain should massively scale.  Importantly, Wright notes that "bitcoin was designed to be a monetary system that works within existing legal frameworks". This differs from the path other developer groups are trying to follow where they are creating an anonymous system along the lines of EGold and Liberty reserve. This enables bitcoin to interact with the existing global financial system rather than seeking a black-market exchange system.Wright and nChain are working to restore Bitcoin's original protocol, ensure that its vision for massive blockchain scaling is fulfilled in the form of Bitcoin SV, and keep BSV designed to work within existing common law frameworks as Bitcoin was created to do.  BSV emerged after the world's first Bitcoin hash war last November to ensure the Satoshi Vision of Bitcoin lives on. 

In the future, Wright intends to assign the copyright registrations to Bitcoin Association to hold for the benefit of the Bitcoin ecosystem.  Bitcoin Association is a global industry organization for Bitcoin businesses.  It supports BSV and owns the Bitcoin SV client software.  Founding President Jimmy Nguyen comments:

"We are thrilled to see Craig Wright recognized as author of the landmark Bitcoin white paper and early code.  Better than anyone else, Craig understands that Bitcoin was created be a massively scaled blockchain to power the world's electronic cash for billions of people to use, and be the global data ledger for the biggest enterprise applications.  We look forward to working with Craig and others to ensure his original vision is recognized as Bitcoin and is realized through BSV."

COINGEEK TORONTO CONFERENCE

To learn more about Craig Wright's vision for Bitcoin, come to the upcoming CoinGeek Toronto conference, May 29-30 in Toronto, Canada.  The conference focuses on Bitcoin scaling with "No Limits," and features the world leaders in blockchain scaling.  The event will feature a special interview with Craig Wright discussing his creation of Bitcoin, the Satoshi Nakamoto identity, and why the original Bitcoin design, protocol and "Satoshi Vision" are so important for its success.

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