UK court rules against Craig Wright’s Satoshi Nakamoto claim

UK High Court Judge James Mellor has ruled that Dr. Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.

The verdict concludes a lawsuit initiated by the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) against Wright, who has claimed to be the inventor of Bitcoin.

COPA, which aims to foster the adoption of cryptocurrency technologies and eliminate patents as barriers to innovation, sought to prevent Wright from making further claims to the Satoshi Nakamoto identity.

The trial featured extensive allegations of document forgery against Wright, with evidence suggesting he fabricated evidence to support his claim.

COPA’s closing submission highlighted Wright’s “extensive deception,” including an invented biographical history and forged documents.

The ruling not only discredits Wright’s claims but also impacts his ability to make copyright claims on the Bitcoin whitepaper, which is now under an MIT open-source license.

In 2023, Wright sued 13 Bitcoin Core developers and several companies for copyright violations related to the Bitcoin whitepaper and blockchain.

Despite Wright’s previous attempts to register copyright for the Bitcoin whitepaper in the United States, the court’s decision in favor of COPA limits his legal standing.