In a landmark decision, a UK judge declared Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the elusive creator behind the pioneering Bitcoin whitepaper. Judge James Mellor, presiding over the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) trial, found “overwhelming” evidence against Wright’s claim to be the digital currency’s architect.
Definitive Judgment on Wright’s Claims
Judge Mellor announced his intentions to detail his findings in a written judgment, firmly denying Wright’s association with the creation of Bitcoin. He outlined his conclusions to include Wright’s non-authorship of the Bitcoin whitepaper, his lack of involvement as Satoshi Nakamoto from 2008 to 2011, his absence in the creation of the Bitcoin system, and his non-authorship of the initial Bitcoin software versions.
This ruling marks a significant win for COPA and the broader cryptocurrency community. Initiated in 2021, the lawsuit aimed to block Wright from suing developers and others in the crypto space, as well as from claiming intellectual property rights over Bitcoin’s open-source technology. The alliance, supported by Coinbase among others, celebrated this outcome as a triumph in safeguarding the foundational principles of Bitcoin and its open-source ethos.
