The legal showdown in Oslo aims to determine whether Hodlonaut's tweets — which accused Dr. Wright of being a scammer — are protected by freedom of speech.
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A trial has begun in Norway that pits the popular Crypto Twitter personality Hodlonaut against Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin.
Back in 2019, Hodlonaut accused Dr. Wright of being a fraud and a scammer — and dismissed the entrepreneur's claims that he was Satoshi Nakamoto.
The legal showdown in Oslo aims to determine whether Hodlonaut's tweets are protected by freedom of speech.
If a judge rules in Hodlonaut's favor, this would affect Dr. Wright's ambition of collecting damages for libel during separate proceedings in London.
Hodlonaut's real name is Magnus Granath — and back when the tweets were sent, he was working as a public school teacher.
Lawyers representing the Bitcoiner used the first day of the trial to establish a timeline — and give the judge background into the claims that Dr Wright has made in the past.
Marie Bjørk Myklebust, representing Hodlonaut, sought to claim that thousands of other tweets that questioned Dr. Wright's claims have also been written — and they were posted four months before the posts in question.
She also argued that Dr. Wright himself has also used "strong words, strong statements" in the past — pointing to public remarks where he has branded his critics scum, losers and frauds… as well as "soy boys" and "cucks."
Dr. Wright has a nine-strong legal team — and they will get their chance to make opening statements in court later today.
According to Bitcoin Magazine, Hodlonaut is "defending the whole Bitcoin community" in this case — and substantial amounts of money have been raised to fund his defense.
