Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who falsely claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin, has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence by a London court that found him guilty of contempt for continuing to sue people.
According to the court, Mr. Justice James Mellor had already determined that 54-year-old Craig Wright had repeatedly lied about being Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym behind the person or group that launched Bitcoin. The first Bitcoin was mined in 2009, and its price has recently reached an all-time high of $108,000.
The Real Satoshi Nakamoto owns 1 Million Bitcoins
During the December 19 hearing, Justice Mellor slapped the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto with a one-year sentence for filing another lawsuit against Bitcoin developers in violation of an existing court order. Craig Wright now faces a one-year jail term, suspended for two years, following five counts of contempt and a $180,000 fine. The contempt ruling relates to part of the case filed against Wright by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) against firms on the basis he was Satoshi.
The real Satoshi Nakamoto is most likely a billionaire since he supposedly owns about 1 million Bitcoins. The self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, on the other hand, had claimed intellectual property rights associated with the flagship cryptocurrency, but the UK court found he had lied about his role in the development of Bitcoin and went on to deploy fictitious clumsy forgeries technobabble and, on a grand scale.
Despite being ordered to stop taking legal action against BTC developers, he recently defied the orders and brought more than £900bn of his claimed intellectual property rights related to Bitcoin.
Prosecution Proved Case Against Craig Wright Beyond Reasonable Doubt
According to Jonathan Hough KC, counsel for COPA, a non-profit group that includes crypto firms that brought the action against Wright, Craig Wright’s latest actions were a “desperate publicity stunt to keep his cultish supporters engaged.” Hough stated that Craig Wright sought to complain about what he termed judicial bias, even going further to claim that he was a victim of the British aristocracy. However, Judge Mellor found that the prosecution had proved Wright’s contempt “beyond reasonable doubt.”
There has Been an Endless Search for the Real Nakamoto.
During the sentencing, Craig Wright appeared via video link from an undisclosed location in Asia and said he was going to appeal the judgment. The self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto refused to attend the court session in person and asked to be paid at least £240,000 to facilitate his costs and lost earnings. However, the judge observed that while Wright presented himself as an extremely clever person, he stated that “in my judgment, he is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is […] an extremely slippery witness”.
There has been an endless search for the real Satoshi Nakamoto, whose story begins in 2009 when an individual with considerable computer science and code writing abilities posted a whitepaper on the P2P Foundation website under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The individual interacted with a number of developers who assisted with the initial refinement of Bitcoin’s early protocol and growth before finally sending a final email in April 2011.
Conclusion
Since then, the crypto industry has been puzzled over Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity, with many theories circulating over the years. Whether Satoshi was an individual or a group of people remains a mystery, and he remains anonymous until he chooses to declare his identity in the future or remain mysterious forever. In the meantime, people like Craig Wright have sought to take advantage of the mystery and tried to claim to be who they are not.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who Created Bitcoin?
Bitcoin was created by an individual or group of people going by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, who released the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008. Satoshi mined the first few Bitcoins and disappeared from online space in 2010.
How is Satoshi Nakamoto connected to BTC?
In 2008, Nakamoto published the “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” whitepaper. The announcement declared that the world no longer needed intermediaries like banks; instead, transactions could happen directly between people.
What are some speculations about Nakamoto’s Identity?
Many theories have been raised about Nakamoto’s identity. Some of the people mentioned include Hal Finney, an early Bitcoin developer and cryptographer. Others are Nick Szabo, the creator of Bit Gold, and even Dorian Nakamoto, whose name fueled rumours despite his denial.
