Australian computer scientist and self-proclaimed inventor of bitcoin, Craig Wright, is facing a contempt of court case for his lawsuit against btc developers Core and Jack Dorsey's Square. British Judge James Mellor stayed Wright's lawsuit until the request is resolved on December 18.
Wright Faces Contempt Case Over Basic bitcoin Lawsuit
On November 1, Craig Wright x.com/BitMEXResearch/status/1852296393672499646″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>attended a court hearing on a contempt of court application over his £911 million claim, valued at $1.2 billion, against the developers of bitcoin Core and Square Up European Ltd.
In response, the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) filed a contempt request form, arguing that Wright violated the court order that resulted from the main bitcoin authorship lawsuit.
As Bitcoinist reported, British High Court Judge James Mellor ruled against Wright's claims to be bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto earlier this year. The judge concluded that the Australian computer scientist had lied “extensively and repeatedly” in his oral and written evidence and had falsified documents on a large scale to support his claims.
Consequently, the court ordered Wright to admit that he was not Satoshi Nakamoto and to cease any legal action related to his refuted claims of authorship.
According to the court hearing transcript shared by BitMEX Research, the application form argues that Wright violated the Court's previous ruling after threatening to initiate excluded proceedings and ultimately doing so against bitcoin Core and Square.
<img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-336353 size-large" src="https://technicalterrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/12-Billion-Bitcoin-Core-Lawsuit-Wright-Faces-Contempt-Case.png" alt="bitcoin” width=”860″ height=”508″ srcset=”https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GbSwz2IXIAAdItC-e1730486085918.png?w=860 860w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GbSwz2IXIAAdItC-e1730486085918.png?w=640 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GbSwz2IXIAAdItC-e1730486085918.png?w=768 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GbSwz2IXIAAdItC-e1730486085918.png?w=750 750w” sizes=”(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px”/>
COPA's Contempt of Court application form. Source: BitMEX Research on x.
Self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto filed a lawsuit on October 10. bitcoin-core-legal-battle/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>claiming that btc Core developers and “all affiliated parties” have misrepresented btc as the original bitcoin.
Wright, who is representing himself in this lawsuit, maintains that the Taproot and Segregated Witness (SegWit) updates “have caused confusion in the market and compromised the vision of the original bitcoin protocol.”
Furthermore, the computer scientist claims that bitcoin SV (BSV) is the real version of the flagship cryptocurrency and sought more than $1 billion in damages for undermining the asset and creating a misperception.
Wright denies COPA accusation
During today's hearing, Wright, who attended by video call from Singapore, refuted the allegation, saying: “I don't think you're in contempt, my lord.” He added that if the court found him in contempt, he would be willing to modify the case as he did not want to default.
Previously, Wright x.com/CsTominaga/status/1847796986856263918″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>explained in a thread The computer scientist maintains that his new claim is “fundamentally different” from an identity claim, as it is based on his “contributions to the development, maintenance and extension of the bitcoin blockchain.”
Judge Mellor decided to stay Wright's lawsuit while the contempt request was resolved and scheduled a hearing for December 18. However, Wright initially objected to making a physical appearance in court that day, claiming that his autism spectrum disorder (ASD) would physically prevent him from being in court.
Meanwhile, COPA legal representative Jonathan Hough argued that the seriousness of the allegation requires all parties to be in court:
This is an extremely serious judicial procedure. Therefore, we believe that it should be done in person. CSW has made a very big claim: if there is any merit to COPA's application, it is wrong in principle to hide behind a keyboard in a closet in Thailand. CSW says he is a UK resident and is expected to return to the UK for the hearing.
Finally, Judge Mellor set a further directive hearing date for November 26 to determine whether Wright will be present in court next month.
<img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-336348 aligncenter" src="https://technicalterrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/1730563789_838_12-Billion-Bitcoin-Core-Lawsuit-Wright-Faces-Contempt-Case.png" alt="bitcoin, btc, BTCUSDT” width=”980″ height=”551″ srcset=”https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BTCUSDT_2024-11-01_12-05-42.png?w=1582 1582w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BTCUSDT_2024-11-01_12-05-42.png?w=640 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BTCUSDT_2024-11-01_12-05-42.png?w=768 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BTCUSDT_2024-11-01_12-05-42.png?w=980 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BTCUSDT_2024-11-01_12-05-42.png?w=1536 1536w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BTCUSDT_2024-11-01_12-05-42.png?w=750 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BTCUSDT_2024-11-01_12-05-42.png?w=1140 1140w” sizes=”(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px”/>
bitcoin is trading at $69,592 in the three-day chart. Source: BTCUSDT on x/MJkeBH1M/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com