The presumed final ruling comes eight years after Wright’s initial claims of being the person behind the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym, and has implications for a number of other cases involving Wright.
The judge firmly rejected Wright’s claims to be Nakomoto.
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Posted March 14, 2024 at 11:41 am EST.
A U.K. judge has declared that the infamous Craig Wright is not Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto and did not author the original whitepaper or software, according to courtroom reports. Over the past few weeks, Wright has faced a trial initiated by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) regarding his alleged forgeries attempting to falsely claim he is the creator of Bitcoin.
According to BitMEX Research, Judge James Mellor made some declarative remarks at the conclusion of the case prior to issuing his final ruling. “First, that Dr. Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin White Paper,” said Mellor. “Second, Dr. Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the period 2008 to 2011. Third, Dr. Wright is not the person who created the Bitcoin System. And, fourth, he is not the author of the initial versions of the Bitcoin software.”
Wright’s public claims of being behind the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym began all the way back in 2016 in an interview with the BBC. The veracity of Wright’s claims have long been strongly disputed by bitcoin users, as he has never been able to provide cryptographic signatures related to addresses presumed to belong to Satoshi.
The COPA vs. Craig Wright Case
Closing statements in the COPA vs. Craig Wright case have been made over the past few days, and the arguments from the COPA lawyers have largely revolved around the repeated use of forged documents by Wright in an effort to prove that he is Satoshi. Examples of these alleged forgeries have included altered versions of the Bitcoin whitepaper, emails, and records associated with Satoshi’s online accounts. In many cases, Wright admitted in court that the documents that he provided as evidence of his claims had, indeed, been faked.
Read More: Satoshi’s Emails to a Bitcoin Co-Developer: The 5 Most Revealing Quotes
Kim Nillson of cloud security platform WizSec Security has been tracking the situation with Wright for many years and previously pointed out a variety of discrepancies in his claims, such as noting that Bitcoin addresses Wright claimed to own were connected to defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.
“Just like the judge said, the evidence really is overwhelming, and the amount of dishonesty and fraud Wright has demonstrated even during the trial itself is astonishing,” Nillson told Unchained. “Like many others I assumed we’d have to wait a long time for the ruling given how conservative U.K. judges tend to be, so it really says something that the judge ruled from the bench in this case.”
What’s Next for Wright?
The presumed ruling in the COPA vs Craig Wright case has implications for a number of other cases involving Wright, such as those against individuals he has sued for slander after public statements were made regarding Wright’s claimed identity as Satoshi. The case against the pseudonymous Bitcoin Twitter personality Hodlonaut is one notable example.
Additionally, the COPA lawyers previously revealed their intention to recommend Wright be charged for perjury due to various statements he’s made throughout the case. It should be noted that this trial has been a precursor to a criminal trial that will take place regarding Wright’s antics. The trial that is now concluding was solely for the purpose of establishing whether Wright is Satoshi in a court of law.
Judge Mellor still needs to put together his official ruling via a written judgment.
