Craig Wright, the controversial computer scientist who insists he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, has been sentenced in the UK to one year of suspended imprisonment for contempt of court. This decision, delivered by Judge James Mellor, comes after Wright ignored a court order that prohibited him from filing lawsuits based on his contested claims of being Bitcoin’s creator. In addition to the suspended sentence, Wright was ordered to pay a fine of £145,000
The case was initiated by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing Wright from misusing the legal system to bolster his intellectual property claims regarding Bitcoin. COPA presented substantial evidence demonstrating that Wright had fabricated documents and lied “extensively and repeatedly” to uphold his disputed narrative about being the mastermind behind Bitcoin.
A Trial That Exposed the Truth
Wright was found guilty of five counts of contempt of court, all linked to lawsuits he filed against Bitcoin developers and the financial services company Square. These legal actions, which sought damages exceeding $1.15 trillion, blatantly violated restrictions imposed by the court. In his judgment, Judge Mellor described Wright’s behavior as an attempt to use the court system as “a vehicle for fraud,” highlighting the extent and severity of his dishonest actions.
Despite the seriousness of the accusations, Wright chose not to attend the hearing discussing his contempt, claiming that appearing in court would result in £240,000 in lost income. According to COPA, Wright is currently believed to be residing in Asia, with reports suggesting he might be in Singapore or Indonesia. This complicates any efforts to enforce the sentence, as there are no clear extradition agreements in place for civil contempt cases.
This case is not the first legal setback for Wright. Earlier this year, Judge Mellor ruled that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, and his subsequent appeal of the decision was rejected. Meanwhile, the true identity of Bitcoin’s creator remains unknown, with the cryptocurrency community shifting its focus toward advancing the technology rather than engaging in groundless legal disputes.
This sentence further reinforces global skepticism toward Wright’s claims, as his fight to be recognized as Bitcoin’s creator appears to crumble under judicial scrutiny.
