Craig Wright has been found in contempt of court over Bitcoin creation claims

Craig Wright, Computer world He was found guilty of lying “on a large scale and repeatedly”. About being the inventor of Bitcoin, a British judge sentenced him to a year in prison after convicting him of contempt of court. The sentence was suspended for two years, meaning Wright will only face prison if he reoffends during that period.

At a hearing on Thursday at the UK Supreme Court, Justice James Edward Mellor to rule That I saw – in bringing a $1.15 trillion lawsuit In October against Bitcoin developers and payments company Square – it violated the rules Previous court order. It requires that Wright refrain from publicly claiming this Satoshi Nakamotothe creator of Bitcoin, and taking legal action on this basis, among others.

Representatives for Craig Wright did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the hearing, it is I mentioned To say he would appeal the contempt ruling.

The contempt of court case was brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit consortium of cryptocurrency companies, which in February Wright was taken to trial Hoping to get an official announcement that he is not Satoshi. The goal was to prevent Wright from moving forward Several separate lawsuits Against Bitcoin developers and other parties, he was trying to assert intellectual property rights over Bitcoin and stave off any future legal war.

On March 14, the final day of the six-week trial, Mellor A A rare surprise ruling“The evidence is overwhelming,” he told the courtroom. “Dr. Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.”

“It is clear that Dr. Wright engaged in the intentional production of false documents to support false claims and to use the courts as a means of defrauding,” Mellor wrote in his book. Judgment. “I am absolutely convinced that Dr. Wright lied to the court extensively and repeatedly. All of his lies and forged documents supported his big lie: his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

At a hearing in July, in addition to imposing various injunctions on Wright, Mellor directed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the body responsible for prosecuting criminal cases in the UK, to consider bringing criminal charges against Wright for “wholesale perjury”. . (CPS has not yet charged Wright with perjury.)