“The judge overseeing a legal battle about who invented Bitcoin has ruled that it is not Australian computer scientist Craig Wright.

The question had been examined in a five week trial at the High Court.

The judge, Mr Justice Mellor, made his ruling as soon as the proceedings had concluded.

He had been expected to retire to consider the case but said he was able to reach a decision so quickly because the “evidence was overwhelming”.

COPA’s lawyer, Jonathan Hough, said elements of Dr Wight’s conduct “stray into farce” – but he told the court it also had “deadly serious” consequences.

“On the basis of his dishonest claim to be Satoshi, he has pursued claims he puts at hundreds of billions of dollars, including against numerous private individuals,” he told the trial.”

Read the full article at BBC

“Judge Edward Mellor said Thursday that Wright was not Nakamoto, did not author the Bitcoin White Paper, and was not the creator of the initial Bitcoin software, in an oral judgment at the end of the trial. A spokesperson for the High Court confirmed the result. A full written judgment will be published at a later date.

Wright has started numerous legal challenges around the world in an attempt to confirm his claimed identity as Nakamoto, mostly unsuccessfully. The UK Supreme Court denied Wright the chance to appeal a libel case against him in December, in which he was offered just £1 in damages against a Bitcoin investor who had rubbished Wright’s claim to be Nakamoto.

“This decision is a win for developers, for the entire open source community, and for the truth,” COPA said.”

Read the full article at Bloomberg

“A British judge has ruled that Brisbane-born computer scientist Craig Wright is not bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, potentially closing the curtain on years of speculation and litigation about the Australian’s claims.

In a terse verbal ruling at the end of a six-week case in London, high court judge James Mellor said “the evidence is overwhelming” that Dr Wright’s claims were false.

“I’m prepared to say this: Dr Wright is not the inventor of bitcoin,” Justice Mellor said, according to court reports. “Dr Wright is not the author of the bitcoin white paper. He is not the person who adopted the name Satoshi Nakamoto.”

Justice Mellor said he would “in due course” issue a written judgement, which would elaborate his conclusions on why Dr Wright had not created the bitcoin system nor written the bitcoin software.

The surprise snap findings on Thursday (Friday AEDT) will electrify the tech community, which has traded bitter blows over Dr Wright and his claims for almost a decade.

It could also, if the plaintiffs get their way, pitch the 53-year-old, UK-based Australian into a new criminal trial on accusations of fraud.”

Read the full article at the Financial Review

“An Australian computer scientist who claims he invented bitcoin is not “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the pseudonymous inventor of the cryptocurrency, a judge at London’s High Court ruled on Thursday.

Judge James Mellor said at the end of closing arguments on Thursday that the evidence Wright was not Satoshi was “overwhelming.”

“Dr Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper,” Mellor said. “Dr Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the period 2008 to 2011.”

COPA, whose members include Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payments firm Block (SQ), said the ruling was “a win for developers, for the entire open source community and for the truth.”

“For over eight years, Dr Wright and his financial backers have lied about his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto and used that lie to bully and intimidate developers in the bitcoin community,” a COPA spokesperson said in a statement.

“That ends today with the court’s ruling that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.””

Read the full article at CNN

“The mystery of who invented bitcoin remains after a High Court judge ruled that Satoshi Nakamoto was not an Australian computer scientist living in Surrey.

Craig Wright’s claim that he was the genius behind the pseudonym used by the cryptocurrency’s founder was described in court as a “brazen lie” based on “forgery on an industrial scale”.

Lawyers for the alliance told a judge that since 2016, Wright, 53, had created an “elaborate false narrative” and had forged documents to suggest that he was Satoshi. It also accused the Australian of having “terrorised” those who had voiced doubts over his claim.”

Read the full article at the Times

“Britain’s high court ruled Thursday that an Australian computer scientist is not, as he claimed, the mysterious creator of the bitcoin cryptocurrency.

Craig Wright has for eight years claimed that he was the man behind “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the pseudonym that masked the identity of the creator of bitcoin.

In his ruling, Justice James Mellor said Wright did not invent bitcoin, was not the man behind Satoshi, or the author of the initial versions of the bitcoin software. Further explanation will emerge when Mellor’s written statement is published at a later date.

“Having considered all the evidence and submissions presented to me in this trial, I’ve reached the conclusion that the evidence is overwhelming,” he said, according to a court transcript.

During the trial, Copa claimed Wright had created an “elaborate false narrative” and forged documents to suggest he was Satoshi and had “terrorized” those who questioned him.

A spokesperson for Copa said Thursday’s decision is a “win for developers, for the entire open source community, and for the truth.””

Read the full article at the Washington Post

“An Australian computer scientist who claims he invented bitcoin is not “Satoshi Nakamoto”, the pseudonymous inventor of the cryptocurrency, a judge at London’s High Court ruled on Thursday.

udge James Mellor said at the end of closing arguments on Thursday that the evidence Wright was not Satoshi was “overwhelming”.

“Dr Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper,” Mellor said. “Dr Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the period 2008 to 2011.”

COPA – whose members include Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payments firm Block (SQ.N), opens new tab – said the ruling was “a win for developers, for the entire open source community and for the truth”.

“For over eight years, Dr Wright and his financial backers have lied about his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto and used that lie to bully and intimidate developers in the bitcoin community,” a COPA spokesperson said in a statement.

“That ends today with the court’s ruling that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.”

Read the full article at Reuters