After years of claiming to be the inventor of Bitcoin, a U.K. judge has ruled that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.
In a recent development, a high court in the United Kingdom court has ruled that Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the real inventor of the leading cryptocurrency.
What happened?
For years, the 54-year-old Australian computer scientist has claimed that he is the individual behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and insisted that he was the author of the white paper that unveiled what would grow to be the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.
He even went on a legal crusade to block people within and outside the cryptocurrency community from hosting the Bitcoin whitepaper, claiming copyright infringement. However, he has been unable to cryptographically confirm that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the real inventor of Bitcoin.
Therefore, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit organization that aims to keep cryptocurrency technology free from patents, filed a high-profile case against Wright in the U.K. in 2021. The lawsuit sought to prevent Wright from suing developers and other members of the cryptocurrency community and claiming intellectual property rights over Bitcoin’s open-source technology.
The Verdict
After nearly two months of trial in London’s high court, a judge has reached a conclusion stating that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto or the author of the Bitcoin whitepaper.
“First, Dr. Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper. Second, Dr. Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the period 2008 to 2011. Third, Dr. Wright is not the person who created the Bitcoin System. And, fourth, he is not the author of the initial versions of the Bitcoin software. Any further relief will be dealt with in my written judgment,” Judge Mellor said.
Judge: I will prepare a fairly long judgement
I have reached the conclusions the evidence is overwhelming
CSW is not the author of the whitepaper
CSW is not satsohi
CSW is not the creator of Bitcoin
CSW did not author the Bitcoin software— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) March 14, 2024
Following the verdict, a COPA spokesperson stated that the court decision benefits developers, the entire open-source community, and the truth. He added that the bullying and intimidation that developers in the Bitcoin community have faced over the years because of Wright’s lies has come to an end. Some industry stakeholders have also expressed their satisfaction with the verdict.
