Craig Wright Sentenced for Contempt of Court After Repeatedly Lying About Being Bitcoin Creator

 

Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who falsely claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin, has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence by the High Court in London for contempt of court. Wright, 54, was found in contempt after continuing to bring lawsuits against individuals and entities despite a court order prohibiting him from doing so.

Wright had previously been found to have lied about being Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous figure behind Bitcoin's creation. The court ruled that Wright had made false claims to Bitcoin's intellectual property, presenting forged documents and "technobabble" in an attempt to support his allegations. Bitcoin, which was first mined in 2009, is now worth £79,000 per coin, and the real Nakamoto is believed to hold 1 million bitcoins, making them a likely billionaire.

Despite being ordered to stop taking legal action over his claims, Wright defied the ruling by filing lawsuits worth more than £900 billion against cryptocurrency developers in October, again asserting his rights to Bitcoin's intellectual property. He also continued to claim that he was Nakamoto, sparking further legal action from the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (Copa), a non-profit group representing cryptocurrency companies.

In his judgment, Mr. Justice Mellor found Wright guilty of five counts of contempt of court. The judge sentenced Wright to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to pay £145,000 in costs within 14 days. The court also struck out Wright’s vast legal claims.

Jonathan Hough KC, representing Copa, described Wright’s legal actions as a "desperate publicity stunt" designed to maintain the support of his followers. He argued that Wright’s threats had "terrorised" individuals, particularly developers and bloggers, causing them years of distress.

During the proceedings, Wright, who appeared via video from an undisclosed location in Asia, refused to attend in person, citing a £240,000 fee to cover his costs. He has announced plans to appeal the court's decision.

The case has attracted significant attention, with onlookers, including one wearing a T-shirt reading, “This is just an elaborate fiction,” lining the courtroom. Wright's repeated lies and forgeries to support his claim to be Nakamoto were central to the court's findings. Judge Mellor, in a previous ruling, described Wright as an “extremely slippery witness” and expressed no doubt that he had lied extensively to the court.