Man Who Kept Insisting He is Satoshi Nakamoto is Now Going to Jail

by

As a seasoned crypto investor with over two decades of experience in the tech industry, I find Craig Wright’s antics to be both amusing and frustrating. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion – you can’t look away, but you wish it would just end already.

Craig Wright, a computer scientist known for his contentious claims about being “Satoshi Nakamoto”, the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin, was recently sentenced to a year in prison for contempt of court in the U.K. The court found that Wright had been perpetuating these falsehoods as a way to maintain the loyalty of his devotees, whose behavior resembled a cult.

Earlier this year, a judge in London asked Craig Wright to cease misrepresenting himself as Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic inventor of Bitcoin who vanished following its creation in 2009. In defiance of the court’s ruling, Wright has persisted in filing lawsuits (some demanding $1.2 trillion) against various entities, fraudulently claiming himself as the originator of Bitcoin.

Consequently, the British court found Wright guilty of disrespecting the court through his actions, which they labeled as “legal terrorism.” They also noted that Wright frequently makes false claims to maintain the interest of his followers, who seem to behave like a cult. Since Wright is an Australian native residing in the U.K., he may face imprisonment once he returns to the country.

In this captivating feature article, we’ll delve into the intriguing life and work of Craig Wright, who has frequently stated that he resides “in parts of Asia.” If needed, British authorities could potentially issue an international arrest warrant to apprehend him.

Craig Wright and his obsession to become Satoshi Nakamoto

Craig Steven Wright hails from Brisbane, Australia, born in October 1970. He’s both a computer scientist and entrepreneur. His educational journey culminated in high school graduation from Padua College, Brisbane, in 1987. Over the years, he climbed the corporate ladder in information technology, with stints at OzEmail, Kmart, and the Australian Securities Exchange. In addition to these professional achievements, he has earned an academic qualification – a PhD from Charles Sturt University (2017) – and asserts possession of a doctorate in theology from United Theological College.

Prior to making his unusual Bitcoin declarations, Wright had already been no stranger to disputes. In the year 2004, he was found guilty of contempt of court by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. As a result, he received a 28-day suspended prison sentence for violating an injunction issued by his previous employer, DeMorgan Information Security Systems.

2005 marked an intriguing turn in my journey within the crypto realm. Following a groundbreaking journalistic probe by Wired and Gizmodo, speculation swirled that I might be the genius behind Bitcoin, known as “Satoshi Nakamoto”. Once this report surfaced, Australian law enforcement conducted raids on my residence in Gordon, New South Wales, along with my business establishments. These actions were part of an ongoing investigation by the Australian Tax Office.

Although labeling it as speculation, Wright seized the chance and initiated a campaign aiming to be acknowledged as Bitcoin’s inventor. On 2 May 2016, Wright first attempted to verify his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto, publishing a blog post on his website, www.drcraigwright.net, where he shared what he asserted was cryptographic evidence supporting his claim.

As a researcher, I recently presented some evidence that I believed could potentially link an individual to the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. However, my findings were swiftly disputed by members within the cryptocurrency community, with security experts Jordan Pearson and Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai arguing that the evidence I provided was based on an old digital signature associated with a Bitcoin transaction from 2009, which they claim is no longer relevant or definitive.

Wright didn’t stop there, in April 2019, Wright registered US copyright for Bitcoin’s white paper and the code for Bitcoin 0.1. To fight Wright’s claim of being Satoshi Nakamoto, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) sued him in the High Court of London. On March 14, Justice Mellor ruled that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto and the written judgment was released on 20 May 2024 which clarified that the Wright documents were forged and he lied to the court.

“Legal Terrorism” by Craig Wright

Wright’s odyssey was marked by numerous court disputes. In the month of February 2018, the estate of Dave Kleiman, a former associate, filed a lawsuit against Wright in Florida, alleging that Wright had fraudulently deprived Kleiman of approximately $5 billion worth of Bitcoin and associated intellectual property.

In 2021, following a three-week court case, the jury determined that Wright was indeed guilty in this specific instance and mandated him to pay $100 million in compensation to Kleiman’s estate. However, if one questions his sanity, they might want to reconsider their thoughts. In 2019, Craig Wright took legal action against individuals who labeled him a fraud and claimed he was deceitful regarding the Satoshi identity. Furthermore, he issued legal notices to Vitalik Buterin (the creator of Ethereum), Roger Ver (a Bitcoin entrepreneur), and Peter McCormack (a podcast host).

However, he lost most of his cases and the jury found Wright to be dishonest. No surprises there !

Final Thoughts

It seems clear that Craig Wright’s life has been consumed by this delusion, leading him to squander significant time not only for himself but also for his peers, courts, and media. At most charitable assessments, he can be likened to a jester in court, who, on this occasion, has managed to offend the judge, now potentially facing incarceration.

Satoshi Nakamoto was a legend, a person who made a whole new financial industry, a digital gold, and laid the foundation of the blockchain industry. If he wanted fame he would never have disappeared. His disappearance was the final masterpiece in Bitcoin’s creation. 

Read More

2024-12-21 10:46