Bitcoin Daily: Florida Trial Could Reveal Identity of Bitcoin’s Original Creator; New Bitcoin Update Adds Privacy; JC Flowers Founder Criticizes Crypto

The family of a deceased man, David Kleiman, who claimed to have helped to create bitcoin, is undergoing a trial to try to get the fortune they say they deserve, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

The Florida trial might have the effect of unmasking the long-secret identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, according to the report. The deceased’s family said Kleiman and his partner, Craig Wright of London, both made up the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, and that as such, the family is entitled to half of the fortune.

The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has been a mystery for years, with speculators not even knowing if it was one person or several, the report stated.

Wright has long said that he created bitcoin, although the bitcoin community has not largely accepted his claim, according to the report. But Kleiman’s family asserts both Kleiman and Wright mined over 1 million bitcoins, and the plaintiffs claim to have evidence.

In other news, bitcoin has had a new update — its first in four years — which comes with more transaction privacy and efficiency, CNBC reported.

The update also makes it possible to have smart contracts, which can be used to cut out middlemen from transactions, according to the report.

Called Taproot, the update “opens a breadth of opportunity for entrepreneurs interested in expanding bitcoin’s utility,” according to Alyse Killeen, founder and managing partner of bitcoin-focused venture firm Stillmark, per the report.

The update concerns digital signatures, which act as a fingerprint of sorts on every transaction, and Taproot will add Schnorr signatures, making it so multi-signature transactions are unreadable, the report stated. This will have the effect of making simple transactions the same as more complex multi-signature ones, which will allow for more privacy.

Meanwhile, J.C. Flowers Founder Chris Flowers has decried bitcoin, calling it “really laughable as a serious alternative payment method,” Bloomberg reported.

“It’s too slow, too expensive,” he said, speaking at the Berlin-based SuperReturn conference, per the report.

While some experts say crypto is a way to fight rising cost pressures, Flowers criticized that theory, saying inflation isn’t a top priority with those who use digital assets, the report stated.

“When is the last time you talked to a 25-year-old who said, ‘You know I am really worried about? Inflation,’” he said, per the report.