Coinspeaker Justice Mellor: Craig Wright Is Not Satoshi Nakamoto
In a landmark written judgment, Justice James Mellor has declared that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, nor the author of the Bitcoin white paper. This judgment follows the conclusion of the COPA v Wright trial, which saw Wright’s claims thoroughly debunked.
Justice Mellor’s written judgment, delivered on Monday, detailed how Wright had lied “extensively and repeatedly” through the forged documents.
“Dr Wright presents himself as an extremely clever person. However, in my judgment, he is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is. In both his written evidence and in days of oral evidence under cross-examination, I am entirely satisfied that Dr Wright lied to the Court extensively and repeatedly,” he stated.
The 231-page ruling also addressed the issue of injunctive relief, a legal remedy to prevent Wright from further claiming he is Nakamoto or engaging in related legal actions. This will be further argued in a Form of Order hearing, scheduled to follow the judgment.
However, Wright’s reaction on social media is one of defiance, expressing his intention to explore options for appeal.
Community Celebrates
Mellor’s decisive ruling was met with relief and celebration within the Bitcoin community. Craig Wright, who emerged in December 2015 with claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto, has since caused significant disruption within the community. His legal actions have targeted Bitcoin Core developers, public figures, and even a Norwegian bitcoiner, Hodlonaut.
The community has long been upset by Wright’s persistent claims and subsequent legal actions, which threaten the industry’s innovation and cohesion. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), whose mission is to protect crypto adoption and counter threats to the industry, accused Wright of forgery and later perjury. Its success in court marks a significant victory for the open-source community, as it writes:
“Today’s ruling is the result of a concerted and united effort across the entire open source community – from developers, to those who selflessly contributed to funding this important case, to all members of COPA. We look forward to developers continuing their work on Bitcoin without fear of baseless litigation.”
Mellor’s Conclusion
Back in March, Mellor had already reached the conclusion that Wright was not Nakamoto and had not authored the Bitcoin white paper. After both sides presented their evidence in a month-long trial, the judge stated:
“Dr. Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the period 2008 to 2011. Dr. Wright is not the person who created the Bitcoin System. And, fourth, he is not the author of the initial versions of the Bitcoin software.”
Mellor had also imposed a worldwide freezing order on Wright’s assets worth 6 million British pounds (approximately $7.6 million) to ensure he could not move them offshore or evade costs associated with the trial. At the time of the order, COPA’s costs amounted to 6.7 million pounds.
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Justice Mellor: Craig Wright Is Not Satoshi Nakamoto
