A London court has ruled against Craig Wright’s controversial claim that he invented Bitcoin. The Australian computer scientist has long claimed that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of the digital currency revolution, and that, as a result, he owned the Bitcoin whitepaper and its implications. However, the British court found this claim false and stated that Wright lied at every turn and forged documents on a massive scale.
Craig Wright’s Crusade to be Called Satoshi Nakamoto
Wright has been on a mission to be recognized as Bitcoin’s storied founder. Back in 2015, a botched investigative report by Wired and Gizmodo revealed that Wright may have founded the decentralized currency. Wright even published several cryptographic signatures allegedly showing his connection to Bitcoin’s genesis block.
However, several crypto researchers and developers soon debunked the claims. The “proof” he could provide was declared an attempt to fool the users and the government into believing he was Satoshi himself, and it proved nothing.
This didn’t stop Wright from his chaotic claim, and he started suing everyone who publicly opposed him. At one point, he even attempted to patent the Bitcoin whitepaper in the United States to solidify his claim. However, all such efforts had no substance and were spectacularly shot down.
The London High Court Ruling
In this particular case, Wright was pitted against the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) as he had started suing Bitcoin developers. COPA wanted to end Wright’s ability to sue these developers as he wasn’t the founder of the digital currency in the first place.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge James Mellor first indicated in March that evidence against Wright was overwhelming but yesterday, he concluded the case entirely in favor of COPA.
Mellor wrote:
“Dr Wright presents himself as an extremely clever person. However, in my judgment, he is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is….., All his lies and forged documents were in support of his biggest lie: his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.”
This was a very damning verdict from the court, as it now looks like the whole “Craig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto” saga is nearing its end. It has gone on for the better part of the last decade.
Wright plans to appeal the decision, while COPA, whose members include former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, believes the decision frees developers from testing and improving the Bitcoin Network without being constantly harassed by Wright’s legal team.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
The identity of Bitcoin’s mysterious founder is likely to remain in the shadows. Satoshi famously owns 1 million Bitcoins ($70 billion), or around 4.7% of the Bitcoin supply. However, these coins have remained unused since they were mined and will likely remain so.
Numerous insights have been provided regarding the identity of the elusive genius behind BTC. One of the most plausible explanations is that it is not the work of one man but rather a group of visionaries who wanted a decentralized future.
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