High Court in London Determines Craig Wright Is Not the Founder of Bitcoin
The High Court in London has ruled that Australian-born computer expert Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of the cryptocurrency genius accredited with creating bitcoin.
In October 2008, an individual calling himself Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” describing the workings of what would become the world’s most important cryptocurrency.
Two months later, Mr. Nakamoto posted the code for the first version of the software that would enable people to create and exchange bitcoin.
Bitcoin, sometimes referred to as “digital gold,” has been the most successful cryptocurrency, although its value has fluctuated since its inception, recently reaching an all-time high of nearly $74,000.
At the conclusion of a civil trial in London, on Thursday, Mr. Justice Mellor ruled against Mr. Wright, who was being sued by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit group comprising large cryptocurrency firms.
Mr. Justice Mellor stated that he would provide the rationale behind his ruling at a later date.
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Earlier this week, during his closing argument, Jonathan Hough, KC, counsel for COPA, asserted, “Dr. Wright has been shown to have lied on an extraordinary scale, and it is difficult to think of a precedent for what he has done. He has invented an entire biographical history, producing one tranche after another of forged documents to support it.”
“Even when the extent of his dishonesty and forgery was exposed to him in cross-examination, he doubled down, forging further documents during the trial, blaming a litany of characters, asserting implausible technical excuses and suggesting a vast and ever-growing conspiracy to frame him, all in an effort to evade his own responsibility.”
Mr. Hough stated that Mr. Wright’s defense had been “comical” at times but he emphasized that his conduct was “no laughing matter.”
Mr. Hough mentioned, “He used his time in the witness box to defame, blame, and attack anyone he could identify to defend his position, including even his own expert witnesses and a series of law firms previously engaged by him.”
COPA Want Wright to Be Charged With Perjury
He stated that COPA would request a transcript of the trial to be sent to the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, “for consideration of prosecution for the offenses of perjury and perverting the course of justice.”
Mr. Wright, who resides in Britain, denies any wrongdoing.
Throughout the trial—watched avidly by cryptocurrency supporters worldwide—Mr. Hough alleged that Mr. Wright constructed an “elaborate false narrative” and “terrorized” anyone who dared to challenge him.
For the past 16 years, mystery has surrounded the true identity of Mr. Nakamoto, who ceased communication in April 2011.
Mr. Wright’s business partner David Kleiman passed away in 2013, but in 2021, Mr. Kleiman’s family sued Mr. Wright in Miami, Florida, claiming entitlement to half of his assets of 1.1 million bitcoins, valued at $54 billion at the time.
A jury dismissed the Kleiman family’s claims but ordered Mr. Wright to pay $100 million to his late partner’s company for intellectual property infringement.
The Kleiman family alleged that the duo had collaborated to create and mine the initial bitcoin.
During the High Court trial in London, Mr. Hough declared Mr. Wright’s assertion of being Satoshi Nakamoto as “a brazen lie” and part of an “elaborate false narrative supported by forgery on an industrial scale.”
Mr. Hough added, “Dr. Wright has consistently failed to provide genuine proof of his claim to be Satoshi: instead, he has repeatedly offered documents that bear clear signs of having been doctored.”
He also accused Mr. Wright of utilizing the AI software ChatGPT to forge documents “due to the pressure of time.”
Mr. Wright’s barrister, Lord Grabiner, KC, mentioned that his client had released the Satoshi Nakamoto white paper “after dedicating many years to studying and working on concepts underpinning bitcoin” and stated there was “clear evidence” he had created bitcoin.
Lord Grabiner stated that COPA was “exclusively concerned” with undermining Mr. Wright’s claim and questioned why nobody else had ever proven to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
He stated, “This issue has been the subject of extensive media comment since early 2016, as well as multiple sets of legal proceedings in this jurisdiction and elsewhere. If Dr. Wright were not Satoshi, the real Satoshi would have been expected to come forward to counter the claim.”
So Who Is the Real Satoshi Nakamoto?
There have been various claims about the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.
In March 2014, Newsweek published an article alleging that a man named Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto was the creator of bitcoin.
He even mentioned that financial troubles led him to discontinue his internet service in 2013.
Mr. Szabo characterized Bit Gold as “a protocol whereby unforgeable costly bits could be created online with minimal dependence on trusted third parties.”
In July 2014, Mr. Szabo reportedly emailed financial author Dominic Frisby, who had claimed to be Mr. Nakamoto, and informed him, “I’m afraid you got it wrong doxing me as Satoshi, but I’m used to it.”
PA Media contributed to this report.
