Craig Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin’s creator, was found in contempt of court for breaching a UK order, facing a suspended 12-month prison sentence.
Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who has long claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, has been found in contempt of court by London’s High Court. Wright was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, for violating a previous court order that barred him from pursuing further legal claims related to Bitcoin intellectual property.
Craig Wright sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 2 years, and ordered to pay COPA’s costs after being found guilty of 5 counts of contempt of court. pic.twitter.com/5deTiSEN1v
— TFTC (@TFTC21) December 19, 2024
The case was brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a group of cryptocurrency and technology firms, which argued that Wright had breached an injunction issued in March. The injunction had prohibited Wright from filing legal actions asserting ownership of Bitcoin’s intellectual property after a judge ruled that he was not the creator of Bitcoin.
COPA alleged that Wright had filed lawsuits in October seeking over £900 billion ($1.2 trillion) in damages from companies and individuals, including Block, a payments company founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The group’s lawyer, Jonathan Hough, described Wright’s lawsuits as “a desperate publicity stunt to keep his cultish supporters engaged.”
Justice James Mellor ruled that Wright’s actions were “a clear and flagrant breach” of the court order, adding that the evidence against Wright was “beyond any reasonable doubt.” Mellor dismissed the lawsuits and imposed the suspended prison sentence.
Wright first publicly claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto in 2016, asserting that he authored the 2008 white paper that laid the foundation for Bitcoin. However, his claims have been widely disputed, and courts have repeatedly dismissed his assertions, citing forged documents and inconsistent evidence.
Bitcoin’s mysterious origins date back to the global financial crisis of 2008, when the pseudonymous Nakamoto introduced the concept of decentralized digital currency. Nakamoto’s identity has never been confirmed, and they disappeared from public view in 2011.
Wright did not attend Wednesday’s hearing, during which COPA presented its arguments. He appeared via video link for Thursday’s sentencing but refused to disclose his current location, believed to be either Indonesia or Singapore.
Justice Mellor imposed the one-year suspended sentence to underscore the severity of Wright’s actions while allowing him to appeal the contempt ruling. Wright has indicated his intention to challenge the decision.
