Only a few weeks after the underwhelming HBO documentary claiming to have fished out Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright has returned.
Wright, who has claimed to be Bitcoin’s creator since 2016 is now suing Bitcoin core developers again.
The Australian computer scientist claims that Bitcoin has strayed too far from the original vision outlined by Satoshi Nakamoto.
Instead of the core Bitcoin being used today, he believes that Bitcoin SV ($BSV) is the original version.
Wright is seeking a staggering £911 billion in damages.
Craig Wright, the man who has repeatedly claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto is back again.
The self-described Bitcoin creator has once again filed another lawsuit against Bitcoin Core developers.
Despite suffering several legal defeats (including a particularly massive one from the UK High Court earlier this year), Wright isn’t backing down.
He continues to challenge the legitimacy of Bitcoin's current development path. Moreso, he also insists that his favored version of Bitcoin (known as Bitcoin SV or BSV) is the true original.
His latest lawsuit is based on arguments that Bitcoin is now deviating from the original vision laid out in the Bitcoin white paper.
Earlier this year in one of the biggest legal battles for Bitcoin ownership, the UK High Court ruled against Wright’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
Recall that COPA (the Crypto Open Patent Alliance) sued Wright over these claims in a legal battle that lasted months.
Justice Mellor who presided over the hearing determined that the evidence presented by Wright was "overwhelmingly insufficient”.
The court also labeled Wright’s actions as one of the worst fraud cases seen in the UK.
All of these thoroughly discredited his claims of having written the original Bitcoin white paper.
Despite this massive blow, Wright has no plans of backing down.
He continues to assert that Bitcoin Core developers have misrepresented BTC as the true version of Bitcoin.
Wright claims that Bitcoin SV (a fork of Bitcoin that he supports) is the real representation of Satoshi's vision.
The latest lawsuit which was filed in the High Court of Chancery in London therefore seeks a massive £911 billion in damages.
This staggering figure according to Wright, is due to the the market valuation difference between the actual Bitcoin and Bitcoin SV.
Wright’s latest case stems from his belief that the current Bitcoin implementation is too different from the original Bitcoin protocol.
He specifically targets upgrades like SegWit and Taproot which were introduced to improve Bitcoin’s scalability, security and privacy.
Wright argues that these upgrades have changed the public’s understanding of Bitcoin.
SegWit and Taproot have also misled them into believing that $BTC is the original cryptocurrency instead of BSV.
He claims that this has caused reputational harm and financial loss to Bitcoin SV which adheres more closely to the original Bitcoin protocol.
On the other hand, the core Bitcoin developers see these updates as necessary to keep the network functional.
One of Satoshi Nakamoto’s final emails acknowledged the handover of Bitcoin to trusted contributors.
Handing over Bitcoin
In Nakamoto’s words, Bitcoin’s strength lies in its ability to evolve without the input of its original creator.
Wright's lawsuits which have been ongoing since 2016 have brought criticism from various figures within the crypto community.
One of these is from Hodlonaut, a prominent Bitcoin advocate who previously won a defamation case against Wright in Norway.
In response to Wright’s latest lawsuit, Hodlonaut told Forbes Wright is being led towards desperate legal maneuvers.
These according to Hodlonaut, are bound to fail.
Wright versus Bitcoin core developers
COPA has also weighed in on the recent lawsuit. The commission stated that the latest lawsuit is bound to end the same way as the previous ones, with another defeat in court.
One of the biggest parts of Wright's lawsuits is the question of who—if anyone—owns the intellectual property (IP) rights to Bitcoin.
Wright continues to claim that as as Satoshi Nakamoto, he holds these rights. Moreso, he also asserts that he has the authority to dictate the direction of Bitcoin’s development.
However, his arguments continue to directly contradict the decentralized nature of Bitcoin (which he claims to have created).
To begin with, Bitcoin is an open-source project that operates on distributed governance.
This means that no single entity can make decisions. Instead, these are made based on contributions from users around the world.
Code changes must achieve consensus from the community to ensure that they remain true to the core principles.
This process has enabled Bitcoin to grow and adapt over time. In essence, No single entity holds absolute control over Bitcoin’s future.
Wright’s claims have been dismissed repeatedly by both the courts and the wider crypto community.
The UK high court found the computer scientist to have forged documents and told numerous lies.
Wright was also forced to admit that he made changes to the version of the Bitcoin white paper submitted in the COPA trial.
Despite these setbacks, Wright continues to push forward with his claims.
Overall as Wright’s latest legal challenge unfolds, one thing remains clear: Bitcoin’s greatest strength is its decentralized nature.
No single individual—not even Nakamoto themselves—can claim ownership or control.
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