UK Judge: Craig Wright lied “extensively and repeatedly” about creating Bitcoin

A
U.K.
High
Court
judge
has
ruled
that
American
computer
scientist
Craig
Wright
lied
and
committed
forgery
during
his
trial.

In
a

written
judgment
published
on
Monday,
Justice
James
Mellor
ruled
that
Wright
committed
perjury
during
the
six-week
COPA
v
Wright
trial,
where
he
contended
that
he
was
Bitcoin
creator
Satoshi
Nakamoto.
Mellor
concluded
that
Wright
used
fraudulent
documents
to
make
false
assertions.

“It
is
clear
that
Dr.
Wright
engaged
in
the
deliberate
production
of
false
documents
to
support
false
claims
and
use
the
Courts
as
a
vehicle
for
fraud,”
Mellor
wrote.
“I
am
entirely
satisfied
that
Dr.
Wright
lied
to
the
Court
extensively
and
repeatedly.
All
his
lies
and
forged
documents
were
in
support
of
his
biggest
lie:
his
claim
to
be
Satoshi
Nakamoto.”

In
March,
Mellor

concluded
that
Wright
was
not
Nakamoto
and
had
not
authored
Bitcoin’s
foundational
document,
the
“white
paper.”
Mellor
explained,
“Dr
Wright
presents
himself
as
an
extremely
clever
person.
However,
in
my
judgment,
he
is
not
nearly
as
clever
as
he
thinks
he
is.”

The
legal
battle
with
COPA

Over
the
years,
Wright
has
boldly
claimed
that
he
is
the
mastermind
behind
Bitcoin.
This
claim
has
been
met
with
skepticism
and
controversy,
leading
to
a
legal
battle
with
the
Crypto
Open
Patent
Alliance
(COPA),
a
key
player
in
the
crypto
industry.
COPA
filed
a
lawsuit
against
Craig
Wright
in
2021.
The
trial
began
on
February
5,
and
saw
COPA
accusing
Wright
of

forgery
and,
later,
perjury.

Wright
has
not
publicly
responded
to
Mellor’s
statements
but

posted
on
X,
stating,
“I
fully
intend
to
appeal
the
decision
of
the
court
on
the
matter
of
the
identity
issue.” 

Ruling
implications

The
ruling
has
significant
implications
for
the
cryptocurrency
industry.
It
confirms
Bitcoin’s
decentralized
and
leaderless
essence
and
ensures
that
no
single
individual
can
claim
its
origins.
This
court
ruling
finally
resolves
one
of
the
most
controversial
and
widely
publicized
claims
regarding
the
pseudonym
Satoshi
Nakamoto. 

The
legal
ramifications
of
Wright’s
perjury
remain
to
be
seen,
but

$7.6m
of
his
assets
were
frozen
in
March
to
prevent
Wright
from
moving
his
assets
offshore
to
avoid
the
case’s
costs. 

Sensing
his
losses,
Wright
had
tried
to
settle
the
dispute
with
COPA
out
of
court
in
January,
but
COPA
declined.