On November 19, a UK court sentenced Craig Wright to a 12-month suspended sentence and a fine of approximately $180,000 for contempt of court, as reported by Cointelegraph.
The decision by Judge James Mellor follows a complaint from Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) lawyers in response to Wright’s latest lawsuit. In October, Wright claimed that the first cryptocurrency had “fundamentally deviated” from Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision, accusing developers of misleading users and asserting that “the real Bitcoin” is his project, Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision (BSV).
The case involved major updates to Bitcoin’s code, such as SegWit and Taproot, which led to the creation of forks like BSV and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Wright’s lawsuit demanded that Bitcoin Core developers and Square pay the difference in market capitalization between BTC and BSV as compensation, amounting to roughly $1.18 billion at the time.
The court ruled that Wright violated a prior injunction prohibiting legal actions against Bitcoin developers and once again misrepresented himself as Satoshi Nakamoto.
“It’s rare for someone to file a lawsuit in the same court that previously issued an injunction against such actions,” COPA legal adviser Tristan Sherliker told Decrypt.
Sherliker added that Wright had “chosen exile,” making the standard punishment of two years’ imprisonment unlikely to be enforced. Instead, the judge imposed a suspended sentence and a fine.
If Wright files another lawsuit against Bitcoin developers claiming to represent Satoshi Nakamoto within the suspension period, the sentence will convert to one year of imprisonment.
At the time of the hearing, Wright was in Indonesia and refused to travel to the UK, citing the cost of airfare. He stated that he was in Asia “on business.” COPA’s legal team offered to cover his economy-class flight, but Wright did not appear in court.
After the official ban on claiming Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity, Wright posted a disclaimer on his website denying involvement in creating Bitcoin. However, he continued promoting BSV as the “real Bitcoin” through a new X account.
In July, the court warned Wright of potential criminal charges for perjury and abusing the legal system as a “tool for fraud.”
Notably, in November, community members speculated that Satoshi Nakamoto might not have disappeared but could be one of the largest Bitcoin whales.
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