Self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright faced developments in two high-profile lawsuits related to his assertion of being Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the pioneering cryptocurrency.
TLDR
- The UK Supreme Court denied Craig Wright permission to appeal a ruling in his libel lawsuit against podcaster Peter McCormack.
- Wright was previously awarded only 1 GBP in damages from McCormack regarding Wright’s claim to be Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
- Wright’s lawyers tried and failed to appeal the nominal damages twice before being denied by the Supreme Court.
- The ruling comes amid Wright’s ongoing lawsuit against crypto companies and developers alleging copyright infringement.
- The defendants rejected Wright’s recent settlement offer, citing inaccuracies and loopholes allowing further legal action.
In the first case, the UK Supreme Court denied Wright permission to appeal a prior ruling regarding his libel lawsuit against podcaster Peter McCormack. Wright sued McCormack for denying his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto, but judges had previously awarded Wright a nominal £1 in damages.
McCormack’s legal team recently confirmed the Supreme Court refused Wright’s final appeal attempt, cementing the negligible damages amount. Wright’s lawyers tried appealing twice before on grounds that the ruling failed to address reputational harms caused by online attacks.
For context re: Craig Wright and Calvin Ayre and why there should be no mercy.
My life changed completely on March 29th, 2019. Almost five years ago now.
I had made several tweets, warning people about Craig Wright, and making my opinion about him clear. A matter of very… https://t.co/ntnAFsqE7Q
— hodlonaut 80 IQ 13%er ????⚡???? ???? (@hodlonaut) January 25, 2024
The decision marks an endpoint in the years-long dispute after judges determined no arguable legal question remained. For McCormack and his counsel, the judgment definitively rebuffs Wright’s championing as Bitcoin’s developer.
In a parallel ongoing lawsuit, Wright extended a proposed settlement to the defendants just days ago regarding his claims that they infringed on Bitcoin intellectual property which he created. The targets, including crypto companies and protocol developers banded together as the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA), swiftly rejected Wright’s offer.
COPA decried inaccuracies and potential loopholes in the proposal that could still enable future litigation. Their harsh refusal comes after COPA publicized new expert testimonies alleging several of Wright’s submitted legal documents are manipulated forgeries rather than original source material.
By undercutting the authenticity of Wright’s evidence, COPA aims to undermine his entire premise of being Satoshi Nakamoto. They bolstered this attack by pinpointing the likely use of AI tools to fabricate certain support documents on demand.
Still, Wright maintains an ardent faction of supporters who believe he created Bitcoin alone. They accuse COPA of attempting to quash market competition instead of disproving Wright’s founder status. But COPA’s bold dismissal of the settlement combined with the alleged evidence manipulation considerably weaken Wright’s claims in the suit.
Across his two most prominent legal cases, Wright’s footing appears less stable. The consecutive setbacks impair his self-appointed role as Satoshi and further tarnish his credibility. For now, serious doubts endure around Wright’s purported invention of Bitcoin and the technology which spawned an entire blockchain industry.
