British judge rules against Craig Wright
A British judge has ruled that Craig Wright, who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin, lied and forged documents to support his false claims. Judge James Mellor explained in a detailed ruling that Wright distinguished himself by extensive forgeries and dishonesty during the legal proceedings.
Judge’s verdict and conclusions
Judge Mellor concluded that Wright is neither the author of the Bitcoin white paper nor had any ties to the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto during the years 2008-2011. The judge also found that Wright does not own any copyrights to Bitcoin, invalidating his previous legal actions against Bitcoin developers.
Course of the trial and criticism of the judge
During the trial, lawyers from the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) exposed Wright's fraudulent practices and presented technical evidence of forged documents, which Wright attempted to defend with questionable explanations. Judge Mellor criticized Wright's attempts as full of "contradictions and absurd explanations" and noted that Wright had overestimated his intelligence.
Consequences of the judgment and reactions
Following the ruling, Wright withdrew several lawsuits based on his claim to be Nakamoto. Although Wright can now no longer make this claim in the UK, other jurisdictions remain open. The ruling is seen as a setback for Wright and diminishes his credibility. COPA views this as a victory that may limit further legal action by Wright, although there are avenues for appeal.
The ruling offers the Bitcoin community relief from Wright's previous claims and the legal threats associated with them.
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