• Craig Wright was sentenced to a one-year jail term, suspended for two years, for contempt of court.
• The court ordered Wright to pay £145,000 in legal costs for defying a previous ruling.

Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, has been sentenced to a one-year jail term suspended for two years by the High Court in London. Wright was found guilty of contempt of court for defying a previous order that barred him from pursuing legal claims related to his disputed identity as Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

The ruling came after Wright launched lawsuits against Bitcoin developers despite a court order prohibiting such actions. He faced five counts of contempt of court, and Justice James Mellor declared these proven beyond reasonable doubt. The court also ordered Wright to pay £145,000 in legal costs.

In March, the court had already dismissed Wright’s claims of being Nakamoto, citing extensive lies and forged documents. Despite this, Wright filed lawsuits seeking nearly £900 billion in damages, accusing developers of deviating from Bitcoin’s original design. These actions violated the court’s July ruling.

The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit organisation representing cryptocurrency firms, brought the contempt case against Wright. COPA lawyer Jonathan Hough argued that Wright used his lawsuits as publicity stunts to mislead his followers.

Craig Wright’s Manipulative Tactics

Justice Mellor criticised Wright’s actions as a flagrant breach of the court’s order. He noted that Wright relied on clumsy forgeries and exaggerated claims to support his narrative. The judge further emphasised Wright’s attempts to manipulate legal proceedings, including alleging judicial bias and making implausible claims of financial hardship.

Wright, appearing remotely from Asia, declared his intent to appeal the ruling. However, the court’s decision underscored the lack of credibility in his claims. In May, the court ordered Wright to publicly acknowledge he is not Satoshi Nakamoto or the author of the Bitcoin white paper.

This case adds another chapter to Wright’s contentious legal history. He has faced widespread criticism for lawsuits targeting individuals and firms within the cryptocurrency community. While the sentence spares him immediate imprisonment, further violations could trigger the jail term.

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