Satoshi Shame: Craig Wright Ordered to Declare He Isn't Bitcoin Creator

Following a loss in the UK high court in March, Dr. Craig Wright was ordered to publicly state that he is not, in fact, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.

According to court documents shared by BitMex Research, Wright was ordered to state on his public website, Twitter account, and all Slack channels that he is not Nakamoto.

“I do not consider a notice on his website on its own to be adequate since his primary mode of communication to those interested appears to be via X/Twitter or his Slack channels,” UK Justice Mellor, who presided over the case, wrote.

According to Mellor, the public declaration must be pinned for six months on Wright’s website and social media, and three months on his Slack channels.

According to the declaration posted on Wright’s website, the court found that he “lied [...] extensively and repeatedly” in his evidence, and that he attempted to create a false narrative by forging documents “on a grand scale” and presenting them in evidence to support his claim of being Nakamoto.

“In advancing his false claim to be Satoshi through multiple legal actions, Dr. Wright committed ‘a most serious abuse’ of the process of the courts of the UK, Norway, and the USA,” the notice said.

In addition to declaring he is not Nakamoto, Wright was ordered to acknowledge that he is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper, does not own its copyright, did not adopt or operate under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto between 2008 and 2011, did not create the Bitcoin system, and is not the author of the initial versions of the Bitcoin software.

Along with acknowledging that he is not Satoshi, Wright was barred from suing over the matter in UK court in the future.

“Dr. Wright has been ordered not to commence any legal proceedings based on his false claims (by claim or counterclaim) or procure any other person to do so,” the notice said. “He has also been ordered not to threaten any such proceedings (explicitly or implicitly) or procure any other person to do so.”

The court has referred the relevant papers to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for consideration of whether a prosecution should be commenced against Wright for perjury and forgery of documents. It is unclear if this order reaches beyond the United Kingdom.

Since 2021, Wright has been locked in a legal battle with the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) and a group of Bitcoin Core developers over his claim that he is Nakamoto, and that he holds copyright over the cryptocurrency space’s founding document.

The latest round in the legal battle between Wright and COPA began in February. Before the trial began, Wright tried to settle the case out of court in January in an attempt to avoid mounting legal costs.

COPA refused Wright’s offer, calling it a “hard pass.”

“Just like Craig Wright forges documents and doesn't quite tell the truth, his description of the settlement offer isn't quite accurate either—it comes with loopholes that would allow him to sue people all over again,” COPA wrote on Twitter.

In March, UK authorities froze $7.4 million worth of Wright's assets following the court ruling against him. According to court documents, the freeze is intended to cover COPA’s legal fees and protect against Wright “dissipating” his assets.

A representative for COPA declined to comment further instead pointing to a previous statement from the group.

“The overall decision was a watershed moment for the open-source community and, even more importantly, a definitive win for the truth,” COPA said. “Developers can now continue their important work maintaining, iterating on, and improving the Bitcoin network without risking their personal livelihoods or fearing costly and time-consuming litigation from Craig Wright.”

Attorneys for Dr. Wright did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Decrypt.

Edited by Andrew Hayward