UK Court Rules Craig Wright Is Not Bitcoin’s Creator, Ending Claims Over Digital Currency’s Origins

According to a decision by Judge James Mellor on March 14, as reported by BitMEX Research, Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who has claimed since 2016 to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic founder of the Bitcoin network, is not the real Nakamoto. The lawsuit, initiated by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) against Wright, reached its concluding arguments in London.

Craig Wright Isn’t Satoshi Nakamoto

UK court has officially ruled that Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has long claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is not the author of the Bitcoin whitepaper nor the creator of the cryptocurrency. The ruling was delivered by Judge James Mellor at the conclusion of the trial between Wright and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA).

The case, which has been a hot topic worldwide, came as a result of COPA’s efforts to prevent Wright from claiming intellectual property rights over Bitcoin’s technology and from suing other developers within the blockchain space. COPA, an alliance set at keeping open access to cryptocurrency technology, took Wright to court to secure a ruling against his claims of being the digital asset’s inventor.

Judge Mellor, after hearing the closing arguments, found the evidence against Wright’s claims to be “overwhelming.” In his statement, Mellor said he plans to draft a ruling affirming that Wright is not Nakamoto, is not the creator of Bitcoin, the author of the Bitcoin whitepaper, nor the brain behind Bitcoin’s underlying technology. This decision marks a significant moment for Bitcoin by potentially putting an end to years of speculation and legal tension over the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

COPA Accuses Wright Of Extensive Forgery In Nakamoto Claim

Craig Wright’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto has been a contentious issue since he first came out with the claim. While some have supported Wright, many in the community have been skeptical, demanding more conclusive proof of his involvement in the creation of Bitcoin.  

COPA aimed to secure a court injunction to stop Wright from continuing to assert that he was Nakamoto. Wright has faced allegations of extensive document forgery to back his claim as the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. In their final statement, COPA highlighted:

“Dr Wright has been shown to have lied on an extraordinary scale. He has invented an entire biographical history, producing one tranche after another of forged documents to support it.”

The legal proceedings started on February 5. On January 24, Wright proposed an out-of-court settlement, which COPA rejected.

Established in 2020, COPA aims “to promote the adoption and development of cryptocurrency technologies and to eliminate patents as an obstacle to growth and innovation.” Its membership includes 33 entities, such as Coinbase, Block, Meta, MicroStrategy, Kraken, Paradigm, Uniswap, and Worldcoin.

In 2023, Wright initiated legal action against 13 Bitcoin Core developers and several companies, including Blockstream, Coinbase, and Block, accusing them of copyright infringements connected to the Bitcoin white paper, its file structure, and the database rights of the Bitcoin blockchain.