Australian computer scientist Craig Wright has been found in contempt of an order by London’s High Court, sentencing him to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years. Wright had falsely claimed to be the founder of bitcoin cryptocurrency, despite a court ruling in March that barred him from making any claims related to bitcoin.
Wright’s actions constituted contempt of court as he continued to make claims worth over $1 trillion in intellectual property rights connected to bitcoin. He was ordered to refrain from making such claims after the court ruled that he was not the creator of bitcoin or the author of its initial software versions.
The court found it “beyond any reasonable doubt” that Wright had indeed been in contempt of the order. Wright attended Thursday’s hearing by video link, despite missing the previous day’s session where COPA presented its case against him.
For eight years, Wright claimed to be the creator of bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. However, his claims have been widely discredited, and he is accused of seeking to profit from bitcoin’s significant price increases.
The current value of bitcoin remains volatile, currently trading at around $80,000, down nearly a fifth in just a couple of weeks.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/britain-bitcoin-founder-mystery-contempt-49aed41af213182e59c1296b0a832a87