Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto

Craig Wright’s claim to being Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, has been refuted by the U.K. High Court, affirming what many already knew. This ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in 2021 by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (Copa), a coalition of cryptocurrency companies that includes CheckSig and the Digital Gold Institute.

Copa wanted to prevent Wright from asserting intellectual property rights over Bitcoin’s open-source technology and from taking legal action against developers and community members.

Judge James Mellor swiftly delivered the verdict upon conclusion of the case: “Having considered all the evidence and submissions presented to me in this trial, I’ve reached the conclusion that the evidence is overwhelming.”

Judge Mellor provided detailed declarations to clarify the matter: “First, Dr. Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper. Second, Dr. Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the period 2008-2011. Third, Dr. Wright is not the person who created the Bitcoin system. And fourth, he is not the author of the initial versions of the Bitcoin software.”

A Copa spokesperson hailed the ruling as “a win for developers, for the entire open-source community, and for the truth. For over eight years, Dr Wright and his financial backers have lied about his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto and used that lie to bully and intimidate developers in the bitcoin community. That ends today with the court’s ruling that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.”

Copa is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing cryptocurrency technologies and removing patents as a barrier to innovation. CheckSig and the Digital Gold Institute are Copa members since their inception and CheckSig’s patents are free to use being Copa pledged.

“As a responsible crypto industry player” — said Ferdinando Ametrano, CheckSig CEO and Digital Gold Institute scientific director — “we have always believed that Bitcoin belongs to everyone and must be protected accordingly. That is what Copa is for and Craig Wright is against. Bitcoiners often say ’we are all Satoshi,’ but clearly not Craig Wright.”

March 15, 2024

Staff