- Craig Wright sentenced to 12 months suspended jail term for contempt of court over false Satoshi Nakamoto claims.
- UK High Court rejects Craig Wright’s £900 billion lawsuits, ruling he fabricated Bitcoin creator identity.
- Wright fined £145,000 and barred from suing Bitcoin developers after breaching a court order.
An Australian computer scientist who claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto was found guilty of contempt by a UK court. His actions, which violated court orders and lawsuits against Bitcoin developers, led to a twelve-month imprisonment, a suspended jail term, and significant legal costs.
Wright’s Satoshi Claims Amid Legal Battles
The UK High Court ruled that Craig Wright was lying about being Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin. The court found that Wright’s assertions were falsified documents and misleading testimony. Moreover, the decision arose from a case filed by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit representing cryptocurrency firms.
Wright asserted intellectual property rights over Bitcoin, including the whitepaper and the control of code databases, through a £900 billion lawsuit against more than 100 cryptocurrency companies. The High Court struck these assertions out as a scheme to harass developers and bloggers. COPA’s legal team claimed that Wright’s actions could be an attempt to maintain his story among his supporters.
Contempt of Court Leads to Sentencing and Financial Penalties
Wright filed legal actions in October, defying a July court order not to engage in further lawsuits. The High Court sentenced him to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years, with the order to pay £145,000 of legal costs by day 14. According to the judge, Wright’s defiance and repeated falsehoods in court went far beyond reasonable doubt.
In the trial, Wright was shown by video link and did not reveal where he was. He declined to attend in person unless he received £240000 to cover his expenses and loss of income. Throughout the trial, he began making accusations of bias and aristocratic persecution claims, which received criticism from the court.
Wright’s legal actions were so distressing to developers and industry professionals that they generated a lot of angst. COPA alleges his lawsuits were meant to attack, intimidate, and harass people working in the Bitcoin ecosystem. The court’s findings were reinforced by prominent figures in the cryptocurrency community, including Adam Back, who testified against him.
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