An Australian computer scientist, who falsely claimed to be the enigmatic creator of Bitcoin, will face potential prosecution for perjury and forgery. Judge James Mellor, ruling after a civil trial in March, declared that Craig Wright is not the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous figure credited with creating Bitcoin.
Judge Mellor announced he would refer evidence from the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which will consider pressing charges against Wright. “In advancing his false claim to be Satoshi through multiple legal actions, Dr. Wright committed ‘a most serious abuse’ of the process of the courts of the UK, Norway, and the USA,” Mellor stated. “If what happened in this case does not warrant referral to the CPS, it is difficult to envisage a case which would.”
Wright, who emerged in 2016 claiming to be Nakamoto, swiftly retreated from the limelight, citing a lack of courage to provide further proof. His claim, however, did not go unchallenged. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit group comprising technology and crypto companies, successfully sued Wright in the High Court to debunk his assertion. COPA argued that Wright had committed “forgery on an industrial scale” to support his “brazen lie” and used his purported identity as Bitcoin’s inventor to intimidate developers through litigation.
Judge Mellor’s ruling was a significant victory for open-source developers. He determined that Wright did not invent Bitcoin, nor was he the mind behind Nakamoto or the creator of Bitcoin’s foundational software. The origins of Bitcoin date back to the financial crisis of 2008 when Nakamoto published a paper detailing how a digital currency could operate independently of banks and national currencies, facilitating anonymous global transactions.
Despite Wright’s multiple legal battles to assert his claim, the court found his assertions unfounded. “In advancing his false claim to be Satoshi through multiple legal actions, Dr. Wright committed ‘a most serious abuse’ of the process of the courts of the UK, Norway, and the USA,” Mellor said. He emphasized that Wright’s actions represented an egregious abuse of the legal process.
During the five-week trial, Wright denied all allegations of forgery. However, the court’s decision has significant implications for the control of Bitcoin’s intellectual property rights. Wright’s claims had threatened to impact ongoing lawsuits concerning Bitcoin’s intellectual property, but the ruling clarified the matter.
In addition to referring the case to the CPS, Judge Mellor issued two injunctions to prevent Wright from threatening further lawsuits against developers. Wright was also ordered to publish details of the ruling against him on his website, his profile on the social media platform X, and his Slack channels to “dispel residual uncertainty” regarding his false claims of being Nakamoto.
This legal drama underscores the enduring mystery and intrigue surrounding Bitcoin’s origins. Bitcoin remains the world’s most prominent digital currency, enabling users to make anonymous transactions without the oversight of banks or governments. Its ability to be converted to cash and traded online continues to captivate investors and technologists alike.
Messages seeking comment from Wright’s attorneys were not immediately returned. Meanwhile, Wright has indicated on social media that he plans to appeal the decision regarding his identity. The unfolding legal proceedings will undoubtedly keep the crypto community and the public closely watching.
