Craig Wright, who falsely claims he is Satoshi Nakamoto, sentenced to one year in prison: reports

Quick Take

  • Craig Wright was sentenced to 12 months and suspended for two years on Thursday, according to multiple news reports.
  • In March, a U.K. judge ruled that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.

Craig Wright, who has falsely claimed to be the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, was reportedly found to have committed contempt of court and was sentenced to one year in prison. 

The Australian computer scientist was sentenced to 12 months and suspended for two years on Thursday, according to multiple news reports. This comes after Wright launched a £900 billion "legal claim" involving intellectual property. The claim initiated the contempt of court, according to The Independent

Wright, who appeared through a video link, declined to say where he physically was, but said he would appeal, according to reporting from The Guardian

In March, a U.K. judge ruled that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance or COPA first brought its case in April against Wright in a bid to stop Wright from asserting copyright claims over the Bitcoin whitepaper and database. During the trial, two key figures in Bitcoin's creation took the stand, including the pioneer of Bitcoin's proof-of-work consensus system, Adam Back. 

Nakamoto could own up to 1.1 million bitcoin, according to Arkham. This comes as the price of bitcoin has skyrocketed over the past month to a new high of $106,000.  


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About Author

Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.

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