--- title: "That Guy Claiming to Be Satoshi Nakamoto Just Got Beat Down by a Judge" description: "Craig Wright, the man who has long claimed to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has once and for all been revealed to be a fraud." date: "2024-05-22" modified: "2024-05-22" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/craig-wright-satoshi-nakamoto-ruling" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin" - "craig wright" - "satoshi nakamoto" - "the digest" --- # That Guy Claiming to Be Satoshi Nakamoto Just Got Beat Down by a Judge ![Craig Wright, the man who has long claimed to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has once and for all been revealed to be a fraud.]() *\Image: Lucy North / PA Images via Getty / Futurism\* ## Please Stand Up Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has [long claimed to be Bitcoin's mysterious creator]() Satoshi Nakamoto, has been declared a fraud. As [*Wired* reports](), a judge in the United Kingdom has ruled that Wright perpetrated a long-running scheme, including extensive document forgery, in service of the lie that he was Nakamoto. In his [scathing rebuke](), High Court Justice James Mellon eviscerated the Aussie prevaricator, saying that although "many of Dr. Wright’s lies contained a grain of truth," he's told too many over the years to keep them straight. For the [better part of the last decade](), the Aussie fraudster has claimed to anyone who will listen that he was the original author of the 2008 white paper that led to Bitcoin's invention. When asked to prove it, Wright has provided various excuses, including that he "[stomped on the hard drive]()" that contained the smoking gun — but a lack of hard evidence hasn't stopped him from [testifying]() in [multiple]() countries that he's the real Nakamoto. ## Overwhelming Evidence Beyond that outlandish insistence, the Aussie programmer also founded his own cryptocurrency, called [Bitcoin Satoshi Vision](), and [sued people who challenged his claim to fame](). With this latest judgement, which was brought after a group of crypto firms called Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) sued to set the record straight, continuing his shenanigans will be difficult. "It is clear that Dr. Wright engaged in the deliberate production of false documents to support false claims and use the Courts as a vehicle for fraud," Mellor wrote in his ruling. "I am entirely satisfied that Dr. Wright lied to the Court extensively and repeatedly. All his lies and forged documents were in support of his biggest lie: his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto." In mid-March, the same [British judge ruled in a rare snap decision]() in the COPA suit that evidence of Wright not being Nakamoto "is overwhelming," and this final judgment seems to be the nail in the coffin of the Aussie fabulist's "[reign of terror]()," as one user on X-formerly-Twitter called it. "Dr. Wright presents himself as an extremely clever person," Mellor wrote in the more recent ruling. "However, in my judgment, he is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is." Wright, to his end, [announced on X]() that he plans to appeal the ruling, but with the evidence stacked so thoroughly against him, it seems that his house of cards may finally have tumbled for good. **More on Bitcoin:** *[Many Consumers Expect Bitcoin to Crash and Burn]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()