Craig Steven Wright is an Australian computer scientist and entrepreneur known for claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. In a 2024 High Court judgment, the court found that Wright was not Satoshi and had not created Bitcoin or authored its original white paper and software.
The Satoshi Nakamoto claim
Wright publicly claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto in 2016. The identity claim became the subject of a civil trial brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) in England and Wales. After hearing the evidence, the High Court issued declarations in May 2024 that Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto, was not the creator of the Bitcoin system, and was not the author of the original Bitcoin white paper or software. The judgment did not identify who Satoshi is.
Court proceedings
The identity ruling was followed by separate proceedings about compliance with the court’s order. In December 2024, the High Court found Wright in contempt on five grounds relating to a new claim and statements covered by the earlier order. The court struck out the new claim and ordered a 12-month term of committal, suspended until 20 December 2026 on the stated condition that Wright commit no further breach of the Final Order. That was a suspended sentence, not an immediate prison term.
In May 2025, the High Court also made a three-year General Civil Restraint Order (GCRO). A GCRO controls further claims or applications within its scope and may require court permission; it is a separate procedural order from the 2024 decision about the Satoshi claim.
Key dates
- 2016: Wright publicly claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
- May 2024: The High Court issued its declarations rejecting Wright’s identity and authorship claims.
- December 2024: The court found five grounds of contempt and imposed a suspended 12-month committal sentence.
- May 2025: A separate judgment imposed a three-year GCRO.
Related Terms
See Also
- How Crypto Invented Its Own Language
- Bitcoin as Collateral: Bank Loans, Mortgages, and DeFi Explained
- What Happens to Bitcoin When All 21 Million Are Mined?
- Exchange crypto with ChangeNOW
Sources
- Courts and Tribunals Judiciary — COPA v Wright, [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch) — The court’s May 2024 judgment records its declarations about Wright’s Satoshi and authorship claims.
- Courts and Tribunals Judiciary — COPA v Wright contempt order — The December 2024 order lists the contempt findings, struck-out claim, and conditional suspended sentence.
- BAILII — COPA v Wright, [2025] EWHC 1139 (Ch) — The May 2025 judgment gives the court’s reasons for imposing a three-year General Civil Restraint Order.
- HM Courts & Tribunals Service — General civil restraint orders in force — Government guidance explains the general scope and court coverage of these orders.