UK Court Freezes £6M of Craig Wright's Assets Amid Ongoing Dispute Over Bitcoin Creator Identity
Summary:
A UK court has ordered the freezing of £6 million ($7.6 million) in assets belonging to Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. After Wright relocated some assets to Singapore, following a court ruling that debunked his claim, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) pushed for a 'worldwide freezing order' to secure Wright's court expenses. The scope of this legal move includes the entire £6,703,747.91 ($8,471,225) in legal costs incurred by COPA. Furthermore, Wright's lawsuits alleging copyright violations against Bitcoin Core developers and companies, including Coinbase and Blockstream, have been criticized for inhibiting the cryptocurrency's development.
A UK legal body has authorized the sequestration of £6 million ($7.6 million) in assets belonging to Craig Wright. The move aims to ensure Wright covers court costs connected to his controversial affirmations that he is the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto - the mysterious figure behind the creation of Bitcoin. Following a court ruling that rejected his claim, Wright shifted some of his assets out of the UK, raising suspicions. The UK court document indicates that Wright transferred ownership of his London company, RCJBR Holding, to a Singapore-based firm on March 18. According to Judge James Mellor, Wright's actions had reasonably aroused the Crypto Open Patent Alliance's (COPA) suspicions that he was preparing to dodge potential legal costs. The jurist approved the 'worldwide freezing order' asked for by COPA. It covers the entire legal cost COPA had to pay, which totals $8,471,225 (£6,703,747.91).
COPA was established in 2020 with the mission of promoting development and uptake of cryptocurrency technologies while eradicating patent-related hindrances to growth. Currently, it has 33 corporate members, including Coinbase, Block, Meta, MicroStrategy, Kraken, Paradigm, Uniswap, and Worldcoin.
Wright, an Australian computer scientist, used his claim of being Satoshi Nakamoto to file copyright claims about the Bitcoin network. Wright has, for instance, demanded the removal of the Bitcoin white paper from two websites in January 2021. In April 2021, COPA filed a lawsuit against Wright, challenging his claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto and owning copyright to Bitcoin. Testimonies from early Bitcoin developers like Martti Malmi led the judge to rule on March 14 of this year that the bulk of the proof indicates Wright is not Nakamoto. In 2023, Wright took legal action against 13 Bitcoin Core developers and a company grouping including Blockstream, Coinbase, and Block, alleging copyright infringements on the Bitcoin white paper, its file format, and database rights on the Bitcoin blockchain. The Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund countered the lawsuit, focussing on the harmful stagnating effect of Wright’s, and similar, lawsuits on Bitcoin’s development, due to the time, stress, financial burden, and legal risks involved. Gordon filed for an American copyright registration for the Bitcoin white paper and its constituent code in 2019. Presently, the Bitcoin white paper is covered by an MIT open-source license. This permits anyone to reuse and tweak the code for any reason, and a court injunction could stop Wright from making further copyright claims on it.
Published At
3/30/2024 1:40:09 PM
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