Australian computer scientist Craig Wright has stopped appealing his 2022 loss in a Norwegian defamation case involving his claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.
The appeal was against Magnus Granath, a Norwegian citizen known as “Hodlonaut,” who had posted harsh words about Wright on Twitter (now X). In 2022, a Norwegian judge sided with Granath over his choice of words and other written statements about Wright. This was a decision that Wright sought to appeal.
“I just spoke to a Norwegian lawyer.” Granath presentation On social media. “The 2022 win is now final and enforceable. The lawsuit began on May 19, 2019 and continued until today. We are so excited! Now all we have to do is dismiss/win the UK lawsuit and we can finally take the next step.”
Wright filed a lawsuit against Granath in Norway in May 2019 for defamation, or writing and defamatory remarks intended to harm someone’s reputation.
“I’m very happy that the victory in Norway is now final and that five years of work has come to a close here,” Granath told The Block. “We’re waiting to celebrate until the UK cases go away too.”
The Block has reached out to Wright’s Norwegian lawyer and will update the story if we hear back.
Wright v Granas
Granath, a “popular and prolific tweeter,” has publicly cast doubt on Wright’s claim to be from the Nakamoto era, according to British court filings.
In May 2019, Granath tweeted that Wright was a “fraud” and claimed he had committed “fraud,” and also created the hashtag “#CraigWrightIsaFraud.” Wright and his team told Granath to retract these claims and say, “Craig Wright is wrong to claim that he fraudulently claimed to be Satoshi. I accept that he is Satoshi. I am sorry Dr. Wright. I will not repeat this defamation.” We asked him to make a public apology saying, “I did.” .”
On May 19, 2019, Granath filed a lawsuit in the Oslo District Court seeking a ruling that his tweets were legal. Wright filed a counterclaim in Norway claiming the tweet was defamatory. Wright also brought a defamation suit against Granath in an English court in the summer of 2019, in an attempt to narrow the scope of recovery for damages from Granath’s tweets to England and Wales.
Three years later, a Norwegian judge ruled that Granas not only had evidence-based reasons to use “fraud” and “fraud” in connection with Wright, but also reason to doubt whether he was Nakamoto, CoinDesk reported at the time. Wright appealed the decision a month later.
In March 2024, a British court ruled that Wright is not Nakamoto and cannot bring copyright claims related to the Bitcoin network, The Block previously reported.
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