The UK’s Supreme Court has denied self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright permission to appeal a ruling in his case against podcaster Peter McCormack, according to a report by CoinDesk.
Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto was only entitled to £1 in compensation for a libel claim against McCormack in July.
Rupert Cowper-Coles, a partner at law firm RPC who represents McCormack, told CoinDesk, ”We actually only just found out about it but it was at the end of end of last year, [the] Supreme Court refused permission for Craig Wright’s appeal,” he added, “So they’re very pleased that judgment stands – [the] one pound nominal damages award, which Craig has tried to appeal twice unsuccessfully.”
Who Is Craig Wright?
Wright is an Australian computer scientist who has long asserted that he is the pseudonymous author Satoshi Nakamoto, arguing that he owned the copyright to the Bitcoin whitepaper.
Last year a London High Court Judge upheld a ruling that the Bitcoin.org operators, including the pseudonymous Cøbra, must reveal their identities or face substantial legal fees in the legal action brought by Wright. In April 2021, Wright served legal papers on Cøbra, claiming copyright to the Bitcoin white paper and database, as reported by Ruholamin Haqshanas from Cryptonews in September.
Cøbra attempted to challenge Wright’s request for £568,516.42 ($704,500) in legal fees, but a London High Court Judge ruled that the pseudonymous user would have to disclose their identity to contest the costs. Cøbra appealed this ruling, but last year London High Court Justice Richard Smith dismissed the appeal.
Justice Smith stated that while there are legitimate reasons for parties to seek anonymity, such as threats to personal safety, Cøbra’s reasons for anonymity appeared “not only unworkable but also risked undermining the very principles of natural justice.”
Pseudonymous Figures in Crypto
Within the crypto community, pseudonymous figures, including prominent community members, developers, and influencers, are common. The cryptocurrency community has long been sceptical of Wright’s claims to be the creator of Bitcoin, and he has faced legal challenges over his claims in the past.
Wright Pursues Multiple Lawsuits Related to Bitcoin
It seems over the years Wright has continued to pursue multiple lawsuits worldwide relating to the Bitcoin whitepaper. In 2022, he sued cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Kraken over their misrepresentation of “Bitcoin Core” as the actual Bitcoin. Wright has argued that the real BTC is his Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV).
In April 2023, Wright hinted at a possible legal battle against Apple over the storage of Bitcoin white paper on its computers, claiming it violates copyright laws. Haqshanas reports, in another blow to Wright’s claim that he is the mysterious Bitcoin creator, a recent investigation provided evidence to suggest that Nakamoto may actually be a collective entity.
One piece of evidence is the usage of both “we” and “I” in the Bitcoin white paper, indicating the possibility of a team operating under a singular pseudonym.
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