Craig Wright Acknowledges He is Not the Creator of Bitcoin
Australian Craig Wright has recently come clean about his false claims of being the mastermind behind Bitcoin. This revelation follows a series of legal defeats in the High Court of England and Wales, where a judge has suggested investigating Wright for potential perjury.
For years, Wright had asserted that he was Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious figure behind the creation of Bitcoin and the author of its defining whitepaper. He not only laid claim to being the enigmatic Nakamoto but also insisted that the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) remove the Bitcoin whitepaper from its platform due to his alleged copyright ownership. However, COPA, supported by prominent figures like Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter and Block, stood firm against Wright’s demands, leading to a legal showdown in the UK courts. The true identity of Nakamoto remains a mystery, with no definitive confirmation available.
The legal battle, consolidated into the COPA v Wright Identity Issue Trial in the High Court, culminated in a damning judgment by Mr. Justice James Mellor. Mellor found that Wright had repeatedly and extensively lied to the court and that the evidence he presented to establish himself as Satoshi Nakamoto was “forged on a grand scale.” This ruling reaffirmed Mellor’s previous determinations from March and May that Wright had no connection to the creation of Bitcoin.
In a recent judgment delivered by Mr. Justice Mellor, it was noted that Wright had yet to file an appeal. As part of the court’s requirements, Wright posted a message on his personal website acknowledging the court’s findings that he was neither Satoshi Nakamoto nor the inventor of Bitcoin.
Furthermore, Mr. Justice Mellor mandated that Wright share the same content on his X account and in the Slack channels he frequents to ensure broader dissemination. However, the court rejected COPA’s request for Wright to publish an ad in The Times newspaper regarding his court defeat. Wright was also ordered to cover COPA’s costs, amounting to over £6 million, a significant sum considering his reported annual income of around £160k.
The most severe consequence of the judgment for Wright is the recommendation by Mr. Justice Mellor for the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to take action against him for document forgery and perjury. If convicted, Wright could face fines or even imprisonment for these offenses.
