A UK judge has ruled that Craig Wright, who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, lied heavily and falsified documents during a high-profile trial.
In a scathing 231-page ruling, Judge James Mellor said Wright “repeatedly lied to the court” and committed “egregious” forgery in failed attempts to identify himself as Nakamoto.
A group of crypto firms brought a civil lawsuit, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which sought to prevent Wright from claiming to have invented Bitcoin.
BREAKING: 🇬🇧 The judge has just published his decision in the COPA vs Craig Wright case that Craig is not Satoshi Nakamoto.
The great victory of #Bitcoin 👏 pic.twitter.com/rCSewIhsA9
– Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 20, 2024
Mellor wrote that Wright presented false documents and provided false testimony in support of his “big lie — his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.”
The judge ruled that Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper or the person behind the pseudonym Satoshi from 2008-2011.
In addition, Mellor ruled that Wright does not have copyright ownership that would enable him to sue the developers of Bitcoin, as he has done in the past.
The judge criticized Wright's account as “full of contradictions and absurd explanations” and said that Wright was “not as clever as he thought.”
COPA lawyers accused Wright of gross deception and fraud throughout the case. They also presented technical evidence that exposed fake documents that Wright approved with “eloquent but ultimately unconvincing answers.”
After the negative verdict, Wright dropped many of the charges against Nakamoto. However, Mellor's ruling only bars him from bringing new claims in the UK, not elsewhere.
The case raised questions about Wright's source of funding for the cases. Online gambling tycoon Calvin Ayre is rumored to be backing Wright financially, but both men deny this.
All in all, the jury's findings unequivocally represent a significant blow to Wright's reputation and credibility. COPA hopes that this ruling will prevent further legal action from Wright despite potential appeals.
For the Bitcoin community, it provides a major reprieve from his past claims and threats of a lawsuit.
