TLDR
- Craig Wright was ordered by a UK court to publicly declare he is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.
- Wright must state on his website and social media that he did not create Bitcoin or write its white paper.
- The court found Wright had lied extensively and forged documents to support his claim of being Satoshi.
- Wright is barred from filing further lawsuits related to his claims of being Satoshi.
- The case has been referred for potential perjury charges against Wright.
Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, has been ordered by a UK court to publicly declare that he is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin.
This ruling ends a long-running legal battle over Wright’s claims to be the person behind the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The UK High Court of Justice ruled that Wright must post a statement on his website, Twitter account, and Slack channels admitting he is not Satoshi Nakamoto.
The court order requires Wright to acknowledge that he did not create the Bitcoin system, author the Bitcoin white paper, or develop the initial versions of Bitcoin software.
This legal action came from a case brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a group formed to protect open-source crypto technology.
COPA challenged Wright’s claims in court, presenting over 50 pieces of evidence that contradicted his assertions of being Satoshi.
During the trial, experts testified that Wright had produced forged documents and tampered with metadata to support his claims.
The court agreed with COPA, concluding that Bitcoin’s creator would not make the errors found in Wright’s evidence.
Judge James Mellor found that Wright had “lied extensively and repeatedly” in his testimony and attempted to create a false narrative by forging documents “on a grand scale” to support his claim of being Satoshi.
As a result, Wright is now barred from starting any new legal proceedings based on his claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto.
This restriction applies to Wright and anyone acting on his behalf. The court aims to prevent further legal actions deemed an abuse of the court system in the UK, Norway, and the USA.
The case has been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration of potential perjury charges against Wright. UK authorities have also frozen $7.4 million worth of Wright’s assets to cover COPA’s legal fees.
This case is seen as a significant victory for the cryptocurrency community, especially for open-source developers. COPA called the decision “a watershed moment for the open-source community and a definitive win for the truth.” Developers can now continue their work on the Bitcoin network without fear of costly litigation from Wright.
Wright’s claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto began in 2016 and have been controversial ever since. Despite his assertions, Wright has never provided conclusive proof of his identity as Bitcoin’s creator, such as moving the earliest mined bitcoins or signing a message with Satoshi’s private keys.
The court’s decision appears to end Wright’s claims and related legal battles. It’s unclear how this ruling will impact Wright’s standing in the cryptocurrency community and his future involvement in blockchain projects.
As this saga concludes, Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity remains unknown. The Bitcoin community continues to operate and develop the network without knowing its creator’s real identity, maintaining the cryptocurrency’s decentralized and pseudonymous nature.
