High Court Rejects Craig Wright's Satoshi Nakamoto Claim, Freezes $7.6M Assets
May 21, 2024On May 21, 2024, the High Court of London decisively rejected Dr. Craig Wright's claims of being Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
Justice Mellor found Wright guilty of extensive deception and forgery, including falsely claiming authorship of the Bitcoin White Paper.
The case, brought by US software developers, revealed forged documents and deceptive behavior from Wright.
Expert witnesses highlighted anachronistic metadata and inconsistencies in Wright's submissions.
The judgment concluded that Wright's claims were fraudulent and lacked genuine evidence, criticizing his arrogance and history of litigation.
The ruling is a significant victory for the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which aims to protect Bitcoin developers from Wright's litigation.
As a result of the ruling, $7.6 million of Wright's assets were frozen, with COPA potentially recovering substantial costs.
Internal discord at Wright's cryptocurrency firm nChain has disrupted company dynamics, with some employees challenging his Nakamoto claim.
The legal battle follows previous doubts about Wright's credibility in 2016 and a 2019 judgment revealing his late partner's ownership of half of Wright's mined coins.
Wright plans to appeal the decision, while the true identity of Nakamoto remains a mystery, likely representing a collaborative effort in creating Bitcoin.
Injunctive relief will be determined in a future hearing.
The ruling was welcomed by COPA as a victory for the open-source community, allowing developers to work on the Bitcoin network without fear of litigation from Wright.
Summary based on 9 sources
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Sources
The New York Times • May 21, 2024
This Man Did Not Invent BitcoinDaily Mail • May 20, 2024
Computer scientist lied that he was Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto and committed 'clumsy'...PYMNTS.com • May 21, 2024
UK Judge Rejects Computer Scientist’s Claim to Be Bitcoin InventorThe Herald • May 20, 2024
Computer scientist ‘lied extensively’ in Bitcoin founder claim, judge rules