Judge In London Rules Craig Wright Not "Satoshi Nakamoto", The Bitcoin Founder

Craig Wright, the man who has been claiming to be the inventor of bitcoin. (photo: x @Dr_CSWright)

JAKARTA - An Australian computer scientist who claims to have created bitcoin is not "Satoshi Nakamoto", a cryptocurrency inventor who goes under pseudonyms. This decision was issued by a judge at the London High Court on Thursday, March 14.

Craig Wright has long claimed to be the author of a 2008 white paper, the fundamental text of bitcoin, published under pseudonyms.

The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) brought Wright to court to stop him from suing the bitcoin developer, calling for a ruling that Wright was not Satoshi.

Judge James Mellor said on Thursday that Wright was not Satoshi and that he would give complete reasons for his decision in the next few days.

COPA - whose members include Twitter's co-payment firm Block, Jack Dorsey's Block - previously said they had brought a lawsuit to maintain the open nature of bitcoin sources.

After Mellor announced his decision on Thursday, Dorsey posted a quote from the judge and a single letter: "W".

COPA accused Wright of repeatedly falsifying documents to support his claims, including during the trial itself, which Wright denied when providing evidence.

His lawyer, Jonathan Hough, said earlier in the trial in February that Wright's claim "is a striking lie, a complicated false narrative supported by forgery on an industrial scale".

Hough said that "there was an element of Dr. Wright's behavior that was included in the play", citing his alleged use of ChatGPT to make counterfeits.

"Dr. Wright's behavior is also very serious. Based on his dishonest claims as Satoshi, he has pursued claims he has valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, including against many private individuals," Hough said.

But Wright's lawyers argued in a court filing that he had produced "clear evidence showing his writing of white paper and bitcoin creation".