Self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright is once again subject to an asset freezing order in a defamation lawsuit

According to new legal documents from the UK's High Court, the court is freezing the assets of computer scientist and businessman Craig Wright.

The court issued a worldwide freezing order (WFO) at the request of podcaster Peter McCormack to recover legal costs incurred when Wright sued him for defamation.

McCormack told his 543,000 followers on the social media platform X that the order froze approximately £1.54 million (US$1.9 million) of Wright's assets, which could help him recover legal fees.

In his ruling, Judge James Mellor stated, "Wright is using defamation law... to silence anyone who dares to argue that Dr. Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, or to question his claims... I am fully satisfied that Mr. McCormack has a good argument (indeed, a very strong reason) to recover the £1.548 million in costs."

Craig Wright has claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin for years

Wright has long asserted that he is Satoshi Nakamoto and the author of the Bitcoin (BTC) white paper.

However, in a lawsuit against him by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (Copa), a group of cryptocurrency companies, in March this year, Judge Mellor ruled that there is overwhelming evidence showing Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto or the author of the Bitcoin white paper, the original argument behind digital assets.

Details of the defamation case between Craig Wright and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (Copa)

In March of this year, Wright was sued by Copa, a group of cryptocurrency companies aiming to stop him from continuing to claim he invented cryptocurrency and using it to extend his influence in the industry.

The trial took an unusual turn even before it started.

Copa members include Block (founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey), Coinbase, and Bitcoin investment tool MicroStrategy, who accused Wright of fabricating a large number of documents submitted as evidence.

Copa's expert witnesses claimed they found signs of retrospective editing, with edits made using software versions that didn't exist when the documents were supposedly created or altered.

Copa alleged that one document contained traces of involvement by ChatGPT, despite the software not existing until many years after the document was written.

Jonathan Hough KC, representing Copa, told the High Court that Wright's claims were "shameless lies and a carefully constructed false narrative, supported by industrial-scale forgery."

Wright's expert witnesses agreed with many assessments, including that the original document describing Bitcoin was created using OpenOffice software, while Wright's version was compiled with a tool called LaTeX.

Breaking the lie in the Craig Wright and Copa case

A Copa spokesperson said, "This decision is a victory for developers, the entire open-source community, and the truth. For over eight years, Dr. Wright and his financial backers have falsely claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto and used this lie to bully and intimidate Bitcoin community developers.

Today, the court ruled that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto. This decisive judgment not only clarifies the mysterious origins of Bitcoin but also sets an important precedent for future intellectual property disputes in the cryptocurrency field."

Craig Wright embroiled in multiple defamation cases

Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claims to be Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has been involved in numerous Bitcoin-related legal disputes in recent years. Besides the key Copa lawsuit, here are some other major cases:

Kleiman Lawsuit:

• Case Background: Ira Kleiman, brother of the late computer scientist David Kleiman, sued Craig Wright, claiming that David Kleiman and Wright co-developed Bitcoin, and that Wright unlawfully obtained David Kleiman's Bitcoin after his death.
• Litigation Content: Ira Kleiman accused Wright of forging documents and signatures to acquire David Kleiman's Bitcoin assets and intellectual property.
• Case Progress: In December 2021, a federal jury in Florida ruled that Wright should pay $100 million in damages to Kleiman's estate, but the jury did not find Wright's actions to be fraudulent.

Hodlonaut Lawsuit:

• Case Background: A Twitter user named Hodlonaut questioned Craig Wright's identity as Satoshi Nakamoto online, after which Wright sued Hodlonaut for defamation.
• Litigation Content: Wright claimed that Hodlonaut's statements on Twitter damaged his reputation and sought compensation for damages.
• Case Progress: This case is being heard in courts in both Norway and the UK, and it is still ongoing.

Other Defamation Lawsuits:

• Case Background: Craig Wright has filed several other defamation lawsuits against individuals who publicly questioned his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto, including prominent figures within the Bitcoin community.
• Litigation Content: These lawsuits mainly revolve around public doubts about Wright's claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, with Wright demanding public apologies and compensation for damages.