Key Points
- Craig Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin’s creator, faces potential perjury charges in the UK.
- Wright’s assets have been frozen by the UK High Court to aid Peter McCormack, whom Wright sued for libel in 2019.
Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has repeatedly proclaimed himself as the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, is currently under the threat of perjury charges in the United Kingdom.
A High Court judge in London has forwarded Wright’s case to British prosecutors after discovering that he had lied extensively to substantiate his claim of being Nakamoto.
Allegations and Legal Proceedings
On the 16th of July, Judge James Mellor stated that Wright had falsified evidence and lied persistently during the legal proceedings to back his claim of being the author of the 2008 Bitcoin whitepaper, the document that laid the groundwork for Bitcoin.
The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) initiated the case against Wright, looking for a definitive ruling on his claims.
According to Mellor, Wright’s actions were part of a calculated and comprehensive scheme of forgery and deceit. The case was referred to the Crown Prosecition Service (CPS) to decide if Wright should face charges of perjury and forgery.
The judgement states, “As COPA submitted, if what happened in this case does not warrant referral to the CPS, it is difficult to envisage a case which would.”
This implies that the CPS might consider issuing a warrant for Craig Wright’s arrest or seek his extradition if required. Judge Mellor has also recognized the involvement of nChain’s chairman, Stefan Matthews, in this false portrayal of Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto.
Response from the Crypto Community
COPA, backed by several prominent individuals and organizations such as Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Jack Dorsey, and Kraken, presented substantial evidence and expert testimonies in court. These exposed inconsistencies in Wright’s claims of being Bitcoin’s creator.
Furthermore, Wright also “made highly aggressive threats, including to bankrupt Bitcoin developers, have them imprisoned and to have them defenestrated”, according to the evidence.
Wright’s actions have led to severe criticism from the crypto community. In 2021, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin publicly labeled Wright a scammer. Venture capitalist Christen Ager-Hanssen shared the news on X, stating:
“Both [Stefan Matthews and Craig Wright] are deeply complicit in this fraudulent scheme that has misled and deceived countless people. The court’s decision […] is a major development in the Satoshi Nakamoto saga and a step towards justice.”
Freezing of Assets
In the meantime, a legal document filed on July 5 revealed that the High Court of the United Kingdom had issued a Worldwide Freezing Order against him.
This order effectively froze Craig Wright’s assets to assist entrepreneur Peter McCormack, who Wright had sued for libel in 2019. The freeze allowed McCormack to obtain $1.9 million (£1.5 million) in legal fees incurred during the libel case.
