Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who asserts that he is the mastermind behind Bitcoin, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, and claims ownership of the foundational ideas behind various cryptocurrencies, has been ordered to provide 400,000 British pounds ($516,000) as security for covering legal expenses in his pursuit of claims against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Kraken.
Judge James Mellor, presiding over the England and Wales High Court, expressed skepticism about Wright’s ability to fund the legal costs. The judge referred to past instances where Craig Wright had allegedly made inconsistent statements regarding his financial situation. In a judgment issued on Tuesday, Mellor stated that the evidence presented was insufficient to convince him that Wright or his investment company possessed sufficient liquid assets to meet the potentially substantial legal expenses. He warned that the legal action would be struck out in a matter of weeks if the required security payment was not made.
Wright claims ownership of the term “Bitcoin” and alleges that Coinbase and Kraken’s support for trading in bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) is damaging the reputation of the competing cryptocurrency, bitcoin satoshi vision (BSV).
Judge Mellor referred to statements made by Wright, where he asserted that he had made himself financially secure by utilizing a trust to transfer assets. However, these statements appeared to be inconsistent with his testimony in a parallel legal proceeding in the United States involving his former business partner, Ira Kleiman.
In addition, the judge noted testimony that seemed to conflict with statements made in connected U.S. court proceedings involving Craig Wright’s previous business partner, Ira Kleiman. Several members of Crypto Twitter also chimed in and suggested that he was broke.
In a separate case scheduled for later that day in Florida, Wright is facing accusations of contempt of court for allegedly withholding crucial information related to a dispute with Kleiman’s estate over $143 million worth of cryptocurrency ownership. Wright’s defense in this matter involves claiming that he lacks financial information about his wife, Ramona Ang, and that the witness statements he provided in UK courts should be considered as “hearsay.”
In October, an Oslo court ruled in favor of a Twitter user named Hodlonaut, who had posted tweets referring to Wright as a “fraud” and “scammer” for claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the author of the 2008 Bitcoin White Paper. An appeal for this case is scheduled to be heard later this year.
Kraken addresses Craig Wright’s claims
Kraken’s spokesperson conveyed via email to CoinDesk that the court’s ruling is a significant victory in their efforts to counter Craig Wright’s assertions of having control over Bitcoin. The spokesperson emphasized that Satoshi Nakamoto’s original intention was never to grant one individual the authority over Bitcoin. Instead, Nakamoto released the Bitcoin software as open-source, making it accessible to the world for the benefit of all.
Coinbase and lawyers for Wright did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.