Key Takeaways:
- A U.K. court ruled that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, rejecting his claims and ending his practice of asserting intellectual property claims over Bitcoin’s technology.
- The judgment was a result of a lawsuit initiated by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) to protect developers from Wright’s legal actions, marking a significant victory for the cryptocurrency community.
- This ruling leads to the suspension of additional lawsuits filed by Wright and represents a broader win for open-source development and the truth regarding the origins of Bitcoin.
In a landmark ruling that could reshape the landscape of cryptocurrency litigation, a U.K. court has definitively concluded that Craig Wright is not the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto, nor did he pen the foundational Bitcoin whitepaper.
This verdict, handed down by Judge James Mellor, comes after the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) initiated legal action against Wright, aiming to halt his practice of suing developers and asserting intellectual property claims over Bitcoin’s technology.
Justice Mellor found that:
— COPA (@opencryptoorg) March 14, 2024
1) Dr Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin White Paper.
2) Dr Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.
3) Dr Wright is not the person who created the Bitcoin System.
4) Dr Wright is not the author of the initial versions of the Bitcoin software.
1/4
During the trial, which spanned an entire month, the evidence against Wright’s claims was described by Judge Mellor as “overwhelming.”
In his closing remarks, Mellor announced his intention to issue a ruling that will include specific declarations regarding Wright’s non-involvement with the creation of Bitcoin.
This will affirm that Wright was neither the author of the Bitcoin whitepaper, the individual behind the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym between 2008 and 2011, the creator of the Bitcoin system, nor the writer of its initial software versions.
The litigation, initiated by COPA in 2021, sought a judicial pronouncement to forestall Wright from legally targeting developers and other cryptocurrency community members or laying claim to the open-source technology of Bitcoin.
This judgment represents a triumph for COPA, which enjoys the backing of prominent figures and entities within the industry, including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Coinbase.
Moreover, this verdict has led to the suspension of two additional lawsuits filed by Wright, one against Coinbase and another involving Dorsey’s Block, where Wright claimed rights over the Bitcoin blockchain database.
The acknowledgment of Wright’s lack of connection to Satoshi is poised to significantly impact these cases.
COPA has hailed the decision as a victory for developers, the open-source community, and the pursuit of truth, condemning Wright and his financial supporters for perpetuating falsehoods about his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto to intimidate the Bitcoin community.
For over eight years, Dr. Wright and his financial backers have lied about his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto and used that lie to bully and intimidate developers in the bitcoin community. 3/4
— COPA (@opencryptoorg) March 14, 2024
Following the ruling, Wright abstained from commenting on the trial’s outcome.
The courtroom saw a final plea from Wright’s legal team against COPA’s intention to seek injunctions that would forever bar Wright from professing to be Bitcoin’s creator, arguing such a ban would infringe on his freedom of speech.
Nonetheless, COPA’s legal counsel underscored Wright’s litigious campaign against the crypto community as a significant concern of the trial.
The timeline for Judge Mellor’s comprehensive written judgment remains unspecified, leaving the crypto community in anticipation of its detailed findings and implications.