Craig Wright Might Pay 85% Legal Fees in Satoshi Fraud Case

On June 7, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) requested Judge James Mellor to order Craig Wright to cover 85% of the legal costs from their recent court case.

COPA’s lawsuit aimed to determine if Wright was indeed the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. Wright has long claimed this identity, filing lawsuits against individuals and firms in the crypto industry under this pretext, including COPA members Kraken and Coinbase.

However, in March, the UK court declared that Wright was not Nakamoto and did not author the Bitcoin whitepaper.

The courtroom was packed with legal professionals eager to see the conclusion of this high-profile trial. During the proceedings, COPA’s legal representative, Jonathan Hough, played a 2019 video in which Wright admitted to altering documents.

Hough urged the judge to impose a civil restraint order on Wright to prevent him from initiating further legal actions, arguing that Wright has repeatedly made threats and proposing a list of online posts for Wright to remove.

He also suggested that criminal charges be considered, given the court’s findings of Wright’s multiple forgeries during the trial. Additionally, the Bitcoin developers involved in the case demanded that Wright pay 85.2% of their legal fees.

Hough emphasized the need to stop Wright from spreading false information, stating:

There is a powerful public interest in being brought to an end now.

Wright’s defense, led by lawyer Craig Orr, countered that restricting Wright’s claims of being Nakamoto could violate his human rights. Orr also argued that the demand to remove Wright’s posts was “parasitic” and requested that the cost reimbursement be reduced to 70% of COPA’s expenses.

While Judge Mellor did not deliver an immediate judgment, he indicated that a decision on costs would precede any ruling on injunctive relief—a court measure to prevent further actions by Wright.

The upcoming decision will be significant in addressing the lawsuits and the dissemination of false information by Wright.

In other news, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicts that the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan will influence Bitcoin’s price increase to $1 million.