Confessed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright not happy with £1 win in UK libel lawsuit

Enlarge / Craig Wright, self-proclaimed bitcoin inventor, center, arrives in federal court with his attorney Andres Rivero, right, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, June 28, 2019. Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg

In 2016, when Craig Wright promised to provide "extraordinary proof" that he was bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, he was met with great skepticism. Some had doubts when Wright fabricated evidence, and many were unsurprised when he failed to present the alleged evidence he had promised. Instead, he apologized for not having the "courage" to share actual evidence. Then, in 2018, he committed perjury, further stoking public perceptions that he might be a fraudster.

In 2019, Wright began hitting back at critics by threatening to sue them for defamation. Among Wright's most vocal skeptics is bitcoin expert Peter McCormack, who has become Wright's top litigation target. In 2019, Wright sued McCormack for defamation for tweeting things like “Craig Wright is a fucking liar, and he's an impostor; and he's a moron; he is not Satoshi. Wright expected a successful defamation lawsuit against McCormack to finally prove he founded bitcoin.

This week, a verdict was delivered by a UK High Court, where Judge Martin Chamberlain wrote that "Satoshi's identity is not among the issues" determined. The libel suit was ultimately a victory for Wright; he was awarded damages for the "serious harm" McCormack caused to his reputation. But it also proved that once again Wright is failing to provide evidence in his public fight to be recognized as the creator of bitcoin.

In the lawsuit, Wright claimed that McCormack's tweets, along with a YouTube video chat, had seriously damaged Wright's reputation. He said he had had academic papers accepted and then rejected, revoked invitations to lectures and squandered his chances of becoming a magistrate in Surrey. But once again he was found to have provided false evidence to support his claims, and a UK judge ruled it would be 'inadmissible' to award Wright anything other than damages - symbolic interest for damage to his reputation. During all that time in court, Wright was only given a pound yesterday, and The Guardian reports that he will walk away with an even more tarnished reputation.

Because Wright "admitted a deliberately false case and presented deliberately false evidence up to several days before trial, he will only recover nominal damages," Judge Chamberlain wrote.

Despite the low damages received, the lawsuit could serve to silence more critics who don't have the time and resources to sue for their social media posts, which McCormack says in the disputed tweets, was Wright's real motivation to sue.

The judge is still deliberating on the amount to be awarded to cover the costs of the two legal teams. Wright's legal team did not immediately respond to Ars' request for comment. McCormack's legal team told Ars they were "very pleased with the conclusions reached by the judge."

McCormack tweeted that he was also "very pleased" with the court's findings, thanking his attorneys and the judge. He said he would have more people to thank once the case was officially closed.

Wright didn't tweet any...