In a groundbreaking decision on March 14, 2024, Judge James Mellor of the United Kingdom dismissed Australian computer scientist Craig Wright’s decade-old claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin (BTC).
The ruling came after a lengthy legal battle between Wright and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a coalition of prominent cryptocurrency companies. COPA sought to prevent Wright from asserting his supposed ownership of Bitcoin’s core intellectual property (IP) by accusing him of widespread document forgery.
COPA’s case against Wright began in 2023, claiming that he had repeatedly engaged in forgery to support his claims of being Nakamoto. They sought injunctive relief to stop Wright from continuing to assert his identity as the Bitcoin creator, as this could have significant implications for the cryptocurrency industry.
The closing arguments in this high-profile case took place on March 12 in London, with COPA’s legal team strongly criticizing Wright’s credibility. The alliance’s lawyers concluded by stating that Wright had failed to provide credible evidence to support his claims of being Nakamoto. Judge Mellor’s ruling echoed this sentiment, dismissing Wright’s assertions and supporting documents as unreliable. This effectively ended Wright’s long-standing attempts to claim ownership over Bitcoin’s design IP. In his closing statement, Judge Mellor stated that Wright was not the author of the Bitcoin white paper, did not operate under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and did not create the Bitcoin system or its initial software versions.
The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has been a subject of intense speculation and debate within the cryptocurrency community for over a decade. This has become even more significant as the digital currency revolution has gained momentum, with the industry’s market capitalization nearing $3 trillion in recent weeks.
Many individuals have claimed or been linked to Nakamoto’s identity over the years, but Wright’s assertions have been among the most persistent and controversial. He first made his claim in 2016, presenting cryptographic evidence to support it. However, this evidence was met with skepticism from the cryptocurrency community, with experts questioning its validity and pointing out inconsistencies in Wright’s accounts.
Despite the initial doubt, Wright continued to present additional evidence to support his identity as Nakamoto. This included early Bitcoin coding samples, personal writings, and other materials from the early days of Bitcoin’s development. However, independent investigations by cryptography experts consistently cast doubt on the authenticity of Wright’s evidence. Many accused him of fabricating documents and attempting to mislead the public about his role in Bitcoin’s creation.
In addition to the COPA lawsuit, Wright has a history of legal problems. He previously sued 13 Bitcoin Core developers and several companies for alleged copyright violations related to the Bitcoin white paper and codebase. However, many in the cryptocurrency community argued that Wright’s claims were baseless, as the Bitcoin white paper and codebase were considered open-source and available for use and modification.
Mellor’s ruling has significant implications for the future of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. Dismissing Wright’s claims reinforces the decentralized nature of the digital asset, allowing the community to focus on its development and adoption without the threat of unfounded ownership claims. The ruling also serves as a warning against fraudulent attempts to undermine the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Moving forward, the Bitcoin community is likely to focus on exploring new use cases and promoting mainstream acceptance rather than dealing with further legal entanglements.