Craig Wright Found in Contempt for Falsely Claiming to be Bitcoin's Inventor

Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, has been convicted of contempt of court for repeatedly and falsely asserting that he is the creator of Bitcoin, known as Satoshi Nakamoto. This claim has persisted despite a High Court ruling in March that declared him not to be Satoshi and consequently ordered him to cease making such assertions. Following this ruling, Wright ignited further legal disputes by claiming he had intellectual property and was owed a staggering $1.2 trillion (£911 billion) related to Bitcoin.

The judge overseeing the case denounced Wright’s continued claims as a “flagrant breach” of the initial court order. Consequently, he was sentenced to a 12-month prison term, which is suspended for two years. This means that should Wright continue to insist he invented Bitcoin, he could face incarceration. Currently, Wright resides in Asia, having declined to specify his exact location during the court proceedings, complicating the potential for extradition and detention by UK law enforcement, as international warrants would need to be issued.

In court, Wright’s actions were characterized as “legal terrorism” that inflicted significant emotional distress on individuals who opposed his claims. Judge Mr. Justice Mellor described Wright’s legal arguments as “nonsense”, acknowledging his awareness of jurisdictions that lack extradition treaties with the UK, thus facilitating his evasion of legal repercussions.

Wright sparked controversy as early as 2016 when he first claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, suggesting that he, as Bitcoin’s creator, could possess billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency in digital wallets, especially given Bitcoin’s soaring value since the election of Donald Trump as US president. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency community largely dismissed Wright’s assertions due to his inability to provide definitive proof of his identity as Satoshi.

His controversial claims have led him to pursue extensive and costly legal battles against various individuals and companies who disagreed with his statements. This prompted a coalition by industry players, known as the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), to take legal action against Wright, ultimately resulting in a favorable ruling for them and showcasing Wright’s extensive dishonesty in his claims. COPA’s lawyer highlighted that while some elements of Wright’s behavior were bordering on farce, the implications of his conduct had serious ramifications, fostering a chilling effect on the cryptocurrency sector.

Despite many individuals purportedly claiming to be Satoshi, all claims so far have been debunked or rejected, leaving the true identity of Bitcoin’s creator still shrouded in mystery.