Craig Wright, a computer scientist who fraudulently claimed to be the founder of Bitcoin was found to be in contempt of court by a London judge for breaching a series of court orders after he lost a critical lawsuit.
In 2021, the nonprofit cryptocurrency group Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA), backed by Jack Dorsey, sued Craig Wright after he claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto and that he has the copyright to the Bitcoin whitepaper.
Craig Wright Faces Contempt of Court for Alleged Bitcoin IP Lawsuit Violation
Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has long claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is once again facing legal challenges. This time, the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) is accusing Wright of contempt of court following an attempt to sue for $1.1 billion over intellectual property rights tied to the Bitcoin system.
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In a binding judgment, a London judge declared that Wright was not the real inventor of Bitcoin. The judge granted a string of orders against Wright and his companies. This included an order restraining him from issuing any further litigation over Bitcoin.
“When it comes to each of the grounds of contempt, I have found each of them proved beyond reasonable doubt,” Judge James Mellor said Thursday.
A Kraken spokesperson told CoinGape:
“Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin to advance a decentralised financial future to which we can all contribute. Craig Wright usurped Satoshi’s legacy to kill that decentralised future. We are pleased the Court has finally punished Wright’s lawfare.”
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Contempt of court is a criminal offense in England, punishable with prison time. Craig Wright violated the order in October after filing a £900 billion ($1.1 trillion) UK lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed over intellectual property rights related to Bitcoin. That was according to court documents prepared by COPA’s legal team for this week’s hearing.
Even though it is still unknown who the real Satoshi Nakamoto is, in the world of crypto, whispers of a Satoshi-era Bitcoin whale making bold moves are causing quite a stir. Every now and then some Satoshi-era stagnant wallet makes a move. The last one was a Bitcoin whale, who once bought BTC at $1, and is now betting on WallitIQ (WLTQ), the Ethereum token, at $0.02. He forecasted a massive 400,000% ROI akin to BTC’s legendary rise.
Craig Wright Denies Contempt, Says He Will Appeal Bitcoin Ruling
Although the lawyer didn’t directly represent Wright at the court case, he appeared via video conference. He stated that he would appeal. Jonathan Hough, for COPA, said in court filings that Wright “has expressed no remorse, let alone apologize,” for his actions. He added that Wright “remains pathologically incapable of accepting responsibility for his misconduct.”
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“I do not believe I am in contempt,” Craig Wright stated. He further emphasized that if he really was in contempt of court, he is prepared to amend his lawsuit to clarify that the case has no connection to the ownership of the creation of the Bitcoin system.
A hearing to decide Wright’s contempt charges should be in December. In the meantime, Wright’s lawsuit against Block has been temporarily on hold.
Be it as it may, following the rate cut by the Federal Reserve of 25 basis points, Bitcoin fell further below $100K levels. This was also the largest single-day decline in the S&P 500 since November 22. The Fed was more hawkish, with fewer rate cuts projected for 2025 than initially expected. This resulted in broad market volatility. More than $800 million of liquidations were happening across the cryptocurrency market.