Craig Wright has been declared not to be Satoshi Nakamoto, nor the author of the Bitcoin whitepaper, according to U.K. Judge James Mellor. The verdict came after the conclusion of the trial initiated by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) seeking to prevent Wright from asserting ownership over Bitcoin’s technology and suing members of the crypto community.
Judge Mellor stated that the evidence presented during the month-long trial overwhelmingly supported the conclusion that Craig Wright did not create Bitcoin, author its whitepaper, operate under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, or develop the initial versions of the Bitcoin software. He announced his intention to issue a detailed ruling outlining these findings and any further legal actions.
COPA, backed by industry leaders such as Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and Coinbase, brought the lawsuit against Craig Wright in 2021 to secure a ruling preventing him from claiming intellectual property rights over Bitcoin’s open-source technology or taking legal action against developers and others in the crypto space.
The judgment marks a victory for COPA, as it halts other cases initiated by Craig Wright against entities like Coinbase and Dorsey’s Block. These cases, which hinged on Wright’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, may be influenced by the court’s ruling.
A spokesperson for COPA hailed the decision as a win for developers and the open-source community, denouncing Wright’s alleged deception regarding his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto and its impact on the Bitcoin community.
Wright’s legal counsel opposed COPA’s request for injunctions preventing him from declaring himself as the creator of Bitcoin, arguing that such measures would infringe on his freedom of expression. Meanwhile, COPA’s solicitor highlighted Wright’s history of litigation against the crypto community as a central issue in the trial.
The trial witnessed exchanges between Wright’s team and COPA regarding forgery allegations and the admissibility of expert witness testimony. COPA intends to explore potential perjury charges against Wright with U.K. prosecutors.
Judge Mellor has not provided a timeline for issuing his final written judgment. Craig Wright declined to comment on the trial’s outcome.
