In a significant legal development, Judge James Mellor issued a written judgment on Monday regarding Craig Wright’s lawsuit against the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA).
Wright had claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the elusive founder of Bitcoin. However, Mellor’s judgment, building on a ruling from March, found that Wright had “lied to the Court extensively and repeatedly,” including presenting forged documents as evidence.
Considerable evidence against Wright’s claims
Judge Mellor’s judgment underscored the substantial evidence contradicting Wright’s claim to be Nakamoto.
“There is a very considerable body of evidence against Wright being Nakamoto,” Mellor stated.
He elaborated that the true Nakamoto would be able to prove their identity without issue.
Mellor’s assessment indicated that Wright’s failure to provide coherent explanations for the forgeries further discredited his assertions.
“I was left with the clear impression that [Wright] simply engaged in technobabble precisely because he was not able to put forward any coherent explanation for the forgeries which had been exposed, and yet he could not bring himself to accept that he was responsible for them,” Mellor wrote.
This pointed critique highlights the judge’s view that Wright’s technical jargon was an attempt to obfuscate rather than clarify his involvement in the forgeries.
Injunction request denied
Despite the ruling against Wright, Judge Mellor declined COPA’s request for an injunction that would prevent Wright from claiming he is Nakamoto in the future.
This decision leaves open the possibility that Wright could continue to make such claims, although the judgment casts significant doubt on his credibility.
Implications for the Bitcoin community
This ruling is a critical moment for the cryptocurrency community, which has been divided over Wright’s claims.
The judgment not only discredits Wright’s assertions but also reinforces the need for transparency and honesty in the burgeoning field of cryptocurrency.
The court’s findings are likely to have a lasting impact on how claims of identity and invention are treated in the tech and financial sectors.
This article first appeared on Invezz.com
