In the protracted legal saga surrounding the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, Australian computer scientist and entrepreneur Craig Wright finds himself in a precarious position. Wright, who has long claimed to be Nakamoto, has been ordered by UK Justice Edward James Mellor to pay over 800,000 pounds (approximately $1 million) to Bitcoin Core developers if he loses the lawsuit that has been unfolding since 2016.
Wright initiated a lawsuit against 13 Bitcoin Core developers and several companies, including Blockstream, Coinbase, and Block. The lawsuit alleges infringements on “his copyright” pertaining to Bitcoin’s white paper, Bitcoin file format, and Bitcoin blockchain database. Notably, the group of firms is represented by the non-profit Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA).
Submission of New Evidence
During a pre-trial review on December 15, Justice Edward James Mellor granted Wright permission to introduce extra 97 documents so that he could support his claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto.
These documents, stored on two USB drives discovered in a drawer at Wright’s residence in September, included LaTex files—an open-source document preparation system widely used in drafting the Bitcoin white paper.
However, Bitcoin developers contend that Wright is fabricating evidence, manipulating metadata, and deliberately prolonging court proceedings. They expressed surprise that Wright did not present these files earlier, stating:
“His failure to do so cannot be blamed on the supposedly poor advice he received from previous solicitors that such files were not disclosable because, even long before he had to consider his obligations as regards disclosure, Dr. Wright must have been aware of what he now says is the unique nature of the LaTeX files and the fact, on his case, that the Bitcoin White Paper was originally written in LaTeX.”
The Core developers also claimed that the new documents were brought before the court only after they filed 50 pieces of evidence to support the fact that the materials Wright submitted were forged.
Craig Wright Payment of $1M
Justice Mellor approved a second security application for the developers, directing Craig Wright to make an additional payment of 800,000 pounds (approximately $1 million) by January 5. This amount is intended to cover the legal costs of the developers in case Wright is unsuccessful in the trial. Notably, Wright had already submitted a security payment of 100,000 pounds (equivalent to $127,000).
Moreover, Mellor also ordered Wright to pay 65,000 pounds ($82,000) to cover the costs incurred by COPA for expert evidence concerning his autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Wright, asserting a disability linked to ASD, presented a report detailing necessary trial accommodations, including a list of all cross-examination questions. Cross-examination involves the opposing party posing questions to scrutinize or challenge a witness’s testimony.
Notably, several popular faces in the industry have cast doubts on Wright’s claims and credibility within the digital asset community. As per an earlier report from BitcoinNews, nChain Group CEO Ager-Hanssen stated that he no longer believes that nChain’s chief scientist, Wright, is the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.
