- A trillion-dollar lawsuit against Bitcoin developers and related entities has been canned
- The suit, brought by Craig Wright, was found to be an “abuse of process”
- As a result of filing the suit, Wright was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years
A trillion-dollar Bitcon passing-off case brought by Satoshi Nakamoto impersonator Craig Wright has been dismissed after a UK judge found that it constituted an abuse of process. Wright brought the case to the UK High Court in October, claiming that over 100 Bitcoin developers and entities were passing off Bitcoin as BTC when his BSV vehicle was, in fact, the real thing. Wright’s case was dismissed at the same time as he was handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after breaching an injunction by filing the case in the first place.
Wright Breached COPA Injunction Five Times
Wright brought the case five months after the judge in the COPA v Wright case, Justice Mellor, prevented Wright from litigating based on his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto following his catastrophic defeat to the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA). However, in bringing what Wright called a ‘champagne’ case against the collection of entities and developers he labelled BTC Core, Justice Mellor ruled that Wright had breached the injunction he handed down in May by asserting his claim to have created Bitcoin on no less than five occasions in the filing.
Wright had been ordered to attend the resulting contempt of court hearing in London this week, but he didn’t show, blaming his inability to afford a plane ticket and his loss of work, which he later valued at over $300,000. Wright eventually appeared via videolink for the sentencing, where he denounced what he called the bastardisation of Bitcoin, which had nothing to do with the contempt charges, and showed, in Justice Mellor’s words, “no contrition” over his actions.
Wright Gets Suspended Senence
Justice Mellor sentenced Wright to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, with the intention being that he be dissuaded from making any more unnecessarily aggressive court filings; if he does, Wright could face extradition back to the UK to serve his sentence. Wright’s champagne case was also kicked and is unlikely to ever see the light of day again.
Wright is currently in Asia (he would not reveal his country in court) and, while he can at least return to the UK, his ability to travel and do business will now be hampered by the judgment against him as well as the potential perjury charges that could follow next year.
