Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, is facing two high-profile lawsuits related to his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the pioneering cryptocurrency.
TLDR
- The UK’s Supreme Court has refused Craig Wright permission to appeal his defamation suit against podcast host Peter McCormack.
- Wright previously received 1GBP in damages from McCormack in relation to Wright’s claims that he was Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto.
- Wright’s lawyers tried twice to appeal the nominal damages award, but failed, before it was rejected by the Supreme Court.
- This ruling comes as Wright is pursuing lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies and developers alleging copyright infringement.
- The defendants rejected Wright’s latest settlement offer, citing inaccuracies and loopholes that would allow for further legal action.
In the first case, the UK Supreme Court denied Wright permission to appeal a prior ruling relating to a defamation suit against podcaster Peter McCormack. Wright sued McCormack for denying his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto, but the judge had previously awarded Wright a nominal £1 in damages.
McCormack’s legal team recently confirmed that the Supreme Court denied Wright’s final appeal attempt, entrenching the paltry damages award. Wright’s lawyers had previously attempted to appeal the ruling twice, on the grounds that it did not address the reputational damage caused by the online attacks.
Context: Craig Wright and Calvin Ayre and why there should be no mercy.
My life changed forever on March 29, 2019. It’s been almost 5 years now.
I posted several tweets warning people about Craig Wright and making my opinions on him clear. very… https://t.co/ntnAFsqE7Q
— hodlonaut 80 IQ 13%er ????⚡???? ???? (@hodlonaut) January 25, 2024
The decision marks the end of a years-long dispute after a judge ruled there were no more arguable legal issues remaining. For McCormack and his attorneys, the ruling clearly rejects Wright’s defense as a Bitcoin developer.
At the same time, in an ongoing lawsuit, Wright extended a settlement offer to the defendants just days ago regarding claims that the defendants violated the Bitcoin intellectual property he created. The audience, including cryptocurrency companies and protocol developers united in the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA), quickly rejected Wright’s proposal.
COPA criticized the proposal for inaccuracies and potential loopholes that could lead to future litigation. Their harsh rejection comes after COPA released new expert testimony alleging that some of the legal documents submitted by Wright were fabricated forgeries rather than original source material.
COPA aims to undermine his entire premise of being Satoshi Nakamoto by undermining the authenticity of Wright’s evidence. They enhanced these attacks by pinpointing the potential use of AI tools to manipulate specific supporting documents as needed.
Nonetheless, Wright maintains a fervent following who believe he single-handedly created Bitcoin. They accuse COPA of trying to suppress market competition instead of disproving Wright’s status as founder. But COPA’s bold dismissal of the settlement, combined with allegations of evidence tampering, significantly weakens Wright’s case.
In two of his most prominent legal cases, Wright’s footing appears less stable. Successive setbacks damage his self-proclaimed role as Satoshi and further damage his credibility. For now, serious doubts remain about Wright’s invention of Bitcoin and the technology that gave birth to the entire blockchain industry.