The long-running saga of Craig Wright’s claim to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto took another dramatic turn this week, as the controversial figure was found in contempt of court and handed a 12-month suspended jail sentence by a UK judge. The ruling comes after Wright violated a court order by attempting to sue for intellectual property rights to the original Bitcoin system.
Wright’s Bitcoin IP Claim Earns Contempt Ruling
In October, Wright launched a bombshell 900 billion pound ($1.1 trillion) lawsuit asserting his intellectual property rights over Bitcoin. However, this legal action directly contradicted a July court order that expressly barred Wright from pursuing such proceedings in the UK or other jurisdictions.
The lawsuit and subsequent contempt of court finding are just the latest developments in Wright’s tumultuous history of claiming to be Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the world’s first cryptocurrency. Wright has repeatedly asserted his identity as Satoshi since 2016, though his claims have been met with widespread skepticism in the crypto community.
Dr. Wright is perfectly capable, once the dust has settled, of ramping up his public pronouncements again.
— Justice James Mellor
COPA Takes Wright to Court
The contempt of court case against Wright was brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a group that counts major players like Coinbase and Square among its members. COPA had previously secured the July court order limiting Wright’s legal maneuverings around his Satoshi Nakamoto claim.
In March, Justice James Mellor delivered a clear rebuke of Wright’s assertion of being Bitcoin’s creator, writing that he had lied “extensively and repeatedly” to the court. Mellor’s strongly worded July order aimed to prevent Wright from relitigating the issue of his Nakamoto claim.
Suspended Sentence and Uncertain Future
For violating this order with his October IP lawsuit, Wright has now been found guilty of contempt of court. He has been sentenced to 12 months in jail, fully suspended for two years, meaning he will not serve time unless he commits another offense.
The suspended sentence represents a forceful judicial response to Wright’s persistence in pursuing his Nakamoto claim in the courts. However, given Wright’s history, it remains to be seen whether this ruling will put a final end to his legal campaign or merely mark another chapter in the protracted Satoshi dispute.
Community Remains Unconvinced of Wright’s Claims
Throughout Wright’s years of public assertions and lawsuits, the wider cryptocurrency community has largely rejected his Satoshi Nakamoto claim. Experts have highlighted inconsistencies in Wright’s story and technical details that appear to contradict his narrative.
- No conclusive proof tying Wright to Nakamoto’s known online presence
- Wright’s background misaligned with Nakamoto’s presumed coding skills
- Skepticism of Wright’s promise to provide proof, which never materialized
Many see Wright’s ongoing legal battles as a distraction from Bitcoin’s transformative potential and the important technological progress happening in the crypto space. The self-proclaimed Satoshi’s court losses have done little to persuade the community of his legitimacy.
The evidence presented to the court was not enough to prove that Wright is Satoshi. He seems like a fraudster with some knowledge of Bitcoin’s early days who is capitalizing on that.
— Emin Gün Sirer, Cornell University Professor & Cryptocurrency Expert
Wright’s Satoshi Story Far From Over
Despite the UK court’s clear repudiation of Wright’s Nakamoto claim and the threat of actual jail time for continuing his legal campaign, it would be premature to declare the “faketoshi” saga concluded. Wright has shown remarkable persistence in pressing his case over many years.
With the unmasking of Satoshi Nakamoto still a tantalizing mystery yet to be definitively solved, opportunists like Wright are likely to keep emerging with unverified claims to the throne. The suspended sentence may chasten Wright for now, but his story, like the hunt for Satoshi itself, seems to be a never-ending one.
For the cryptocurrency community, the Wright circus has become a sideshow to the real work of building the decentralized future Satoshi envisioned. While the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator fights his battles in the courtroom, the technology he claims to have invented continues to change the world.
