The UK Court of Appeal has firmly rejected Craig Steven Wright's (CSW) request to appeal his case claiming that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin. The dismissal of Wright's appeal effectively nullifies his claims, reinforcing the prevailing consensus that he is not the individual behind the pseudonym.
In May of this year, the UK High Court of Justice ruled that Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto. This decision was made in a lawsuit filed against Wright by the crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a group of companies that alleged that Wright had committed forgery to present evidence to support his claim to be Nakamoto.
It's over! Craig Wright is not the inventor of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto
On November 28, 2024, the Court of Appeal <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/BitMEXResearch/status/1862468757546819664″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>delivered his ruling, stating unequivocally that “Dr. Wright (…) is not the person who adopted the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, who wrote and published the first version of the bitcoin White Paper on October 31, 2008, who wrote and published the first version of the bitcoin White Paper Source code and who created the bitcoin system.” This conclusion was reached after an exhaustive 22-day trial, during which the judge examined a wide range of factual and expert evidence.
BitMEX Research, in a report shared via x, highlighted critical excerpts from the court's decision, emphasizing the depth and thoroughness of the ruling. The judge's decision, spanning 945 paragraphs with an additional 799 paragraphs in the annex, stressed that the evidence demonstrating Wright's non-identity as Satoshi Nakamoto was “overwhelming.”
Among the key factors influencing the sentence were findings that Wright had “repeatedly and extensively lied to the court in his evidence” and had “falsified a large number of documents” to support his claims. The judge's exhaustive analysis included more than eight days of cross-examination of Wright and review of 15 witness statements, which together dismantled Wright's claims.
In response to Wright's post-trial arguments, the judge addressed several of his claims point by point. Wright alleged that the judge “misinterpreted” various pieces of evidence and incorrectly attributed documents.
However, the court states: “Dr. Wright accuses the judge of bias, but this accusation is unfounded. Dr. Wright makes no credible accusation of factual basis or apparent bias, but only a series of disagreements with the judge's reasoning. In fact, the judge went to great lengths to ensure that Dr. Wright received a fair trial. The same applies to the accusation of procedural injustice.”
The court also addressed Wright's challenges regarding the handling of expert evidence. It was clarified that Wright's experts had “agreed with COPA experts on most issues,” undermining his claims about his qualifications and the strategic decisions made by his legal team. Furthermore, Wright's claims about improper authentication of documents were rejected, as the court operates under the principle that “a document is presumed to be authentic unless its authenticity is adequately questioned.”
Regarding Wright's concerns about reasonable adjustments for his autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the court found these allegations to be “unfounded”, noting that the agreed adjustments were effectively implemented and that Wright had even “commented positively on the experience” after cross-examination. .
“The judge made the adjustments agreed upon by the parties' TEA experts and no complaints were made at trial that they were inadequate or ineffective. At the end of cross-examination, Dr. Wright commented positively on the experience. “Several of Dr. Wright's allegations under this heading are simply false,” the court concluded.
In concluding the ruling, the court stated unequivocally: “The appeals have no prospect of success and there is no other reason to hear them,” thus ending Wright's legal quest to validate his identity as the creator of bitcoin.
At press time, bitcoin was trading at $97,860.
Featured image from The Guardian, chart from TradingView.com
