The CoinGeek Pulse Episode 64: Kleiman v Wright trial gets underway, US stablecoin policy, Social Bitcoin Web and OpenSV

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The biggest trial in the history of digital assets and one of the most significant legal cases in the history of blockchain technology has finally kicked off this week in Florida: the Kleiman v Wright 2021 trial.

Ira Kleiman, the brother of the late computer forensics expert Dave Kleiman, filed suit in 2018 against Bitcoin inventor Dr. Craig Wright over the fortune of 1.1 million BTC and intellectual property. The BTC tokens valued at over US$65 billion are believed to be held by Satoshi Nakamoto, the man who created Bitcoin. Ira alleged that Dr. Wright did not invent Bitcoin alone but with a partner—his estranged brother and now deceased Dave Kleiman. The lawsuit rests on the question whether such a partnership existed to mine Bitcoin and develop intellectual property.

Dr. Wright is the U.S. and U.K. copyright holder of the Bitcoin white paper. He knew Dave since 2003 and has previously admitted that Dave was a close friend. Dave’s estate alleges that Wright and Kleiman together are true owners of the 1.1 million coins. The estate asks for up to 50% and acknowledges Wright’s role as Satoshi Nakamoto the inventor Bitcoin.

The Kleiman v Wright trial is expected to run for three weeks.

CoinGeek’s North American Associate Editor Patrick Thompson and Chief Bitcoin Historian Kurt Wuckert Jr. are on the ground in Miami covering the trial. Stay tuned as CoinGeek live streams a daily special coverage report breaking down all the courtroom action.

In other news, the U.S. President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) has released a report on stablecoins’ policy recommendations. PWG, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (CFTC) recommend that Congress act quickly to work on a stablecoin legislation to ensure there is a federal framework that can be referred to in a consistent and comprehensive basis.

The report shows three objectives for the stablecoin legislation: to address risks to stablecoin users and guard against stablecoin runs; to address concerns about payment system risk; and to address additional concerns about systemic risk and concentration of economic power.

The report also notes that “stablecoin arrangements and activities may implicate the jurisdiction of the Security and Exchange Commission and/or CFTC.”

Meanwhile, Money Button founder and entrepreneur Ryan X. Charles has announced a set of new protocols called Social Bitcoin Web (SBW) and Open SPV.

Described as an “economics-first model” and “a true market of information,” SBW links existing online presences with Bitcoin-spending addresses via Paymail. It aims to rebuild identity networks and trust.

https://twitter.com/ryanxcharles/status/1454877540112236546?s=20

OpenSPV is a project to implement Simplified Payment Verification or SPV as specified in section eight of the Bitcoin white paper. According to its Twitter account, it is a full-stack multi-platform scalable open-source white-label Bitcoin wallet for individuals and businesses.

Check out this week’s episode of Hashing it Out with Becky Liggero. The episode features Christian Solomine of BitBoss, who talked about disrupting cashless gaming including how millennials and “Gen Zs” are looking for a “Venmo-like” experience.