UK Court Dismisses Claims Over Bitcoin’s Origins, Declares Craig Wright Not its Creator

Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has long claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, has officially been ruled out as the real Nakamoto. The decision was made by Judge James Mellor in a lawsuit brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) against Wright. The trial, which took place in London, concluded with Mellor stating that the evidence against Wright’s claims was overwhelming.

COPA’s lawsuit aimed to prevent Wright from claiming intellectual property rights over Bitcoin’s technology and from suing other developers in the blockchain industry. The alliance, which is dedicated to ensuring open access to cryptocurrency technology, sought a ruling to debunk Wright’s claims of being the inventor of Bitcoin.

After hearing the closing arguments, Judge Mellor found the evidence against Wright to be conclusive. In his statement, Mellor declared that Wright is not Nakamoto, nor the creator of Bitcoin, the author of the Bitcoin whitepaper, or the mastermind behind the underlying technology. This ruling is significant for Bitcoin, as it may finally put an end to years of speculation and legal disputes surrounding the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

COPA also accused Wright of extensive forgery in his claim to be Nakamoto. Many in the Bitcoin community have been skeptical of Wright’s assertions and have demanded more concrete proof of his involvement in the creation of the cryptocurrency. COPA aimed to obtain a court injunction to prevent Wright from continuing to assert his false identity.

The legal proceedings began on February 5, and on January 24, Wright proposed an out-of-court settlement, which COPA rejected. Established in 2020, COPA’s mission is to promote the adoption and development of cryptocurrency technologies while eliminating patents as obstacles to growth and innovation. Its membership includes major entities in the industry such as Coinbase, Block, Meta, MicroStrategy, Kraken, Paradigm, Uniswap, and Worldcoin.

In 2023, Wright filed a lawsuit against 13 Bitcoin Core developers and several companies, including Blockstream, Coinbase, and Block, accusing them of copyright infringements related to the Bitcoin whitepaper, file structure, and database rights of the Bitcoin blockchain.