Craig Wright, the Australian scientist who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, was awarded £1 in a defamation lawsuit against well-known bitcoin podcast host Peter McCormack. But U.K. High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain also ruled that Dr. Craig Wright put forward false evidence in his case against McCormack.
McCormack made the following statement on Twitter yesterday:
Bitcoin Twitter responded favorably to the ruling, although Peter stated he wasn’t able to fully comment on the lawsuit yet since it was still ongoing.
A document surfaced online that show the judge seemed to acknowledge that Wright suffered “serious harm” to his reputation as a result of a YouTube video posted by McCormack that questioned whether Wright was Satoshi.
In the video that was published in 2019, McCormack said Dr Wright “is not Satoshi” and called him a liar and a fraud. On the basis of this video and other publications, Dr Wright built a defamation case against McCormack.
The document states:
“However, because he [Craig Wright] advanced a deliberately false case and put forward deliberately false evidence until days before the trial, he will recover only nominal damages.”
“Accordingly, I shall enter judgment for Dr Wright on the claim in the sum of £1.”
Twitter bitcoin celebrated the reported outcome as a victory.
Dr Wright and his lawyers also view the outcome as a victory since they technically won the lawsuit. In a press release, Dr Wright stated:
“As anticipated, bit by bit the independent courts across various jurisdictions, including those with juries with the benefit of an examination of all the evidence, are concluding I am who I have admitted I am, since I was outed as Satoshi by media in 2015,” he said. “However too little regard is paid to the impact my Aspergers has in my communications. I intend to appeal the adverse findings of the judgment in which my evidence was clearly misunderstood.”
According to some reports on Twitter, McCormack still has to cover his and Dr Wright’s legal fees which amount to significantly more than £1. In response to the lawsuit’s outcome, a lot of supporters on Twitter offered to pay McCormack the symbolic £1.
The controversy surrounding Satoshi’s true identity and Dr Wright’s claims are likely not going to end anytime soon.