UK Judge Sentences Craig Wright to One Year in Prison for Contempt of Court

Dr. Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, has been sentenced to one year in prison by a UK court for contempt of court. The sentence has been suspended for two years, so Wright will only be sent to prison if he violates court orders during this time. 

In addition to this sentence, Wright was ordered to pay £145,000 in costs within two weeks. 

Wright's refusal to attend the Thursday hearings in person and his continued defiance of the court's orders were factors in the judge's decision. Wright had appeared via video link from an undisclosed location in Asia, claiming he would only attend in person if compensated £240,000 to cover his costs and lost earnings. This behavior was deemed disrespectful by the court, further solidifying its decision to impose a penalty.

Controversial Lawsuit and Court Ruling

Wright's legal journey began with an ambitious lawsuit filed against cryptocurrency developers, seeking £900 billion ($1 trillion) in damages. This lawsuit, primarily targeting Bitcoin Core developers, included Square Europe Limited, a subsidiary of Jack Dorsey’s Block, among the defendants. 

The suit centers around Wright’s claims that the Bitcoin system’s key features were altered through upgrades such as Taproot and Segregated Witness (SegWit), which he argued deviated from Bitcoin’s original vision.

However, Wright's legal claim was quickly dismissed by the High Court in London in November. The court ruled against Wright's accusations, which led the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) to request that he be held in contempt for breaching the court's previous ruling. 

The court had earlier prohibited Wright from continuing his claims to be the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, and ordered him to cease his legal proceedings based on this false claim.

Wright’s Continued Defiance and Legal Setbacks

Despite the court’s ruling, Wright remained undeterred. In October, he filed a new lawsuit, again claiming intellectual property rights over Bitcoin and pursuing over £900 billion in damages. He reiterated his claim of being Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. This blatant defiance prompted COPA to request Wright be penalized for contempt of court.

Judge Mellor, who oversaw the case, found that Wright had violated the court’s prior ruling. In his judgment, Mellor pointed out that Wright's actions were intended to cause maximum distress to the defendants. 

Wright's legal threats had previously terrorized developers and bloggers, leading to years of distress. Mellor's ruling emphasized that Wright's claims were built on lies and forgeries, which the court deemed an attempt to mislead both the legal system and the public.

Wright's Persistent Claims of Being Nakamoto

For years, Wright has maintained that he is the true identity behind Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Wright has continuously attempted to prove his ownership of Bitcoin's intellectual property. 

His repeated attempts to link himself to Nakamoto, however, have been met with skepticism and legal defeat. In March 2021, a UK court ruled that Wright was not the creator of Bitcoin, a decision he later acknowledged on his website.

Despite these setbacks, Wright has continued to promote his narrative. In his ongoing legal battles, Wright has claimed that the court judgments against him are biased and that he is the victim of a conspiracy led by the British aristocracy. These claims were dismissed as baseless by the court, which described Wright as an “extremely slippery witness” and noted his attempts to manipulate the legal process.