UK High Court: Brit who claims to have invented Bitcoin pursues damages claim
The High Court is poised to reach a final decision in a defamation case involving an Australian computer scientist who claims he created Bitcoin.
Dr Wright is pursuing a defamation claim against podcaster Peter McCormack who repeatedly accused him of fraudulently claiming to be Bitcoin’s pseudonymous inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto. The High Court today handed down an initial judgement at a pre-trail review which rejected a key part of McCormack’s defence.
“This judgment represents a comprehensive victory for Dr Wright,” said Simon Cohen of ONTIER, the firm defending the claimant. “We now look forward to trial where Dr Wright will prove the serious harm caused to him by McCormack’s publications.”
Claims
In 2016 Wright attracted controversy after he claimed he had written the infamous Bitcoin Whitepaper, penned by Satoshi Nakamoto, which first outlined blockchain technology.
The claim is hotly disputed. In May 2019, McCormack was amongst online critics who alleged that Wright lacked evidence to back up his claim. In response Wright initiated court action.
The case forms part of a wider legal action being pursued by Wright who has launched a lawsuit at the high court against 16 software developers in hopes he will be able to access Nakamoto’s fortune of 111,000 bitcoins (£4.4bn). The money is held at two digital addresses that Wright claims he has lost the private keys for.
Proceedings in the McCormack case will now move to a trial which the claimant’s lawyers expect to last just three days before a final judgement is given.
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