The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is the biggest mystery in the crypto world. There is a lot of speculation about who the person or people behind the first and most valuable cryptocurrency really are – and there are a few claimants too. The most famous of them is the Australian scientist Dr. Craig Wright. However, after years of litigation, a UK Supreme Court judge has ruled that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.
The lawsuit was filed by a conglomerate of cryptocurrency companies called the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA). It sought a ruling that would prevent Wright from continuing to claim he was Satoshi Nakamoto and using that recognition to expand his influence in the sector.
Reporting from The guard Includes quotes from Jonathan Hough KC, an attorney representing COPA. He argued that Wright's claim that he created Bitcoin and wrote the white paper was a “blatant lie and an elaborate false narrative supported by industrial-scale counterfeiting.” He also added: “There are elements in Dr. Wright’s behavior, which leads to farce.”
The group argued that Wright's supporting evidence included demonstrably forged documents, retroactive changes, and even traces of ChatGPT usage, even though ChatGPT was not released until years later.
The judge overwhelmingly agreed and, unusually, issued a verdict immediately after the case concluded. According to court reports, Judge Mellor said: “I am prepared to say the following: Dr. Wright is not the inventor of Bitcoin” and “Dr. Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper and he is not the person who took the name Satoshi Nakamoto.”
Wright has spent years claiming he invented Bitcoin, pursuing lawsuits in various jurisdictions. One of the most famous examples was the defense against a Fraud lawsuit filed in 2018 by the estate of Dave Kleiman, an American computer scientist. Kleiman died in 2013 and some even suggest that he himself could be Nakamoto. Wright lost the lawsuit and was ordered to pay $100 million in damages.
Well over a decade has passed since Satoshi Nakamoto's last publicly known message was published on the Bitcointalk Forums. The message contained no indication that he was going anywhere. He died? Did he want to resign to promote decentralization? Or was “Satoshi Nakamoto” a group that subsequently disbanded?
Satoshi Nakamoto leaves behind dormant wallets estimated to contain up to 1.1 million Bitcoins. At the current price of Bitcoin, that's about $75 billion. If Wright were Satoshi Nakamoto, access to these early coins would have greatly strengthened his case. He never did that.
We may never know who the real person or people behind Bitcoin are, but if Judge Mellor's ruling is the final word, the saga of “Faketoshi” will be over.
