A trial to finally decide whether Craig Wright is or isn't the real founder of Bitcoin starts today in London

THE real identity of Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto could finally be revealed, unlocking the key to his £36billion fortune.

A UK court will now decide if Craig Wright, 54, is the mysterious, anonymous crypto-king who disappeared from the internet over a decade ago.

Wright, an Australian computer scientist who lives in London, has been arguing since 2016 that he is the real Nakamoto - a claim largely dismissed by the cryptocurrency world.

Whoever did invent Bitcoin is sitting on an enormous stash of cryptocurrency now worth £36billion ($46b) - which would make them one of the world's richest people.

Bitcoin was the first decentralised currency, which uses digital coins created or "mined" using complex calculations carried out by computers.

For years now, Wright has unsuccessfully claimed to be the legendary Nakamoto and has dragged various naysayers through the courts in an attempt to be legally recognised as Bitcoin's creator.

In 2021, an organisation called Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) filed a lawsuit against Wright in the UK, petitioning the court to rule that Wright does now own Bitcoin's white paper.

The trial starts today in London.

It is expected to last about a month and is backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

A spokesperson for Wright said the trial was "really a war" over who sets the rules for the Bitcoin blockchain - a digital record that tracks ownership of a cryptocurrency.