Craig Wright's Permission to Appeal Denied
A UK judge has rejected Australian computer scientist Craig Wright's request to appeal a ruling that concluded he is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator.
Lord Justice Arnold dismissed Wright's appeal on Thursday, deeming it "totally without merit" in two cases against the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA).
The three-page ruling highlighted multiple inaccuracies in Wright's filing, including references to fictitious cases such as "Anderson v the Queen [2013] UKPC 2" and what the judge described as "AI-generated hallucinations.”
I’m very pleased with the UK Court of Appeal's decision to reject Craig Wright’s appeal, calling it “totally without merit.” This is a major defeat for Wright, former nChain chairman Stefan Matthews, and Calvin Ayre, nChain’s owner, who funded this failed legal attempt to mislead… pic.twitter.com/9bNa24DvvM
— Christen Ager-Hanssen (@agerhanssen) November 29, 2024
Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Creator Used AI to Draft His Appeal?
AI hallucinations occur when large language models (LLMs), like those powering AI chatbots, generate false or fabricated information.
This raises speculation that Wright may have used an AI tool, such as ChatGPT, to draft his appeal without verifying its accuracy.
LOL - Craig Wright's permission to appeal denied because chatGPT isn't a lawyer and made up caselaw. pic.twitter.com/1GsFdWJ0UP
— Riccardo Spagni (@fluffypony) November 29, 2024
Wright, who has claimed to be Bitcoin's creator since 2016, was ruled not to be Satoshi Nakamoto by a London High Court judge in March.
Following the decision, $7.6 million of Wright's assets were frozen to ensure payment of court costs in his failed case against the COPA.
In the UK, losing plaintiffs are typically required to cover the defendants' legal expenses.
According to patent attorney David Pearce, who followed the case closely, the rejection of Wright's appeal marks "the end of the line" for his claims.
Craig Wright's Legal Battle Continues
Wright's appeal claimed that Justice Mellor, who ruled he was not Satoshi Nakamoto, was biased due to a meeting with patent attorney David Pearce.
However, Justice Arnold dismissed this claim, noting that Mellor had delivered his judgment nearly two months before the meeting occurred.
What a result. Arnold LJ completely destroys Wright's permission to appeal in just 3 pages, refusing it for being "totally without merit". Some interesting points:
- "Dr Wright’s grounds of appeal, skeleton argument and summary of skeleton argument themselves contain multiple… pic.twitter.com/yASVH87FB6
— Rev Dr Tufty Sylvestris (@tuftythecat) November 29, 2024
Pearce expressed:
“It was always expected that any appeal would be refused, but the decision refusing his permission to appeal is more emphatic than even I expected.”
While this decision likely closes the chapter on Wright's quest to be recognised as Nakamoto, his legal troubles are far from over.
A London hearing next month will address whether Wright is in contempt of court for continuing to file Bitcoin-related cases.
If found guilty of contempt or perjury for using forged documents in the COPA case, Wright could potentially face jail time, according to Pearce.
