No one can deny how revolutionary the Bitcoin white paper published in 2008 under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto is. The pioneering digital currency, which is also the first-ever functional implementation of blockchain, has given rise to a new era of digital economy.
The innovation that is Bitcoin has also been plagued by controversy throughout the years since its launch. One of the issues that created much buzz in the early years of Bitcoin is the mysterious identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. It was only in 2015 when the man behind the famous pseudonym was revealed to be Australian scientist Craig Wright.
Since he was outed, Wright has had to endure derogatory comments made against him to the point that his reputation has suffered greatly. This is because Wright believes that only in massively scaling Bitcoin will it survive and thrive to be the technical plumbing that will power a myriad of technologies, such as the metaverse, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Although Wright has had many critics, some have crossed the line with outright slander of his name on social media. They went beyond being rude and became obviously defamatory. Blogger and crypto influencer Peter McCormack, with almost 500,000 followers on Twitter, is one of them.
The Case Against McCormack
Evidence submitted against McCormack is composed of 15 publications: 14 tweets and one YouTube video in which he was one of four guests engaging in a debate over Bitcoin Core (BTC) and Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV). The latter is the Bitcoin implementation that Wright is currently supporting as it has restored the original Bitcoin protocol and unlocked limitless scaling.
“Craig Wright is a fucking liar, and he’s a fraud; and he’s a moron; he is not Satoshi. He can come at me in the fucking UK, he can take me to Court; he can come with his—his fucking billions of dollars; I don’t give a shit, come at me. Sue me, I don’t give a fuck; you’re still a liar, you’re still a fraud, and you’re still a moron,” McCormack said during the debate.
The 14 tweets submitted as evidence include McCormack stating the following:
- “Craig Wright is not Satosh.”
- “I believe that claiming to be Satoshi and promoting a fake version of Bitcoin is fraudulent.”
- “BSV is a fake Bitcoin run by frauds.”
- “I was right to allege Craig Wright fraudulently claimed to be Satoshi.”
- “I believe Craig Wright to be a con man.”
- “Let’s go to court and prove once and for all that he is a liar and a fraud. Craig Wright is not Satoshi.”
The tweets are numbered Publications 1 to 15, with complaint for number 11 being withdrawn. The YouTube video is referred to as Publication 16.
How McCormack Dealt with the Lawsuit
In a deleted tweet, which was also included in evidence, McCormack was quoted as saying “Craig Wright is not Satoshi! When do I get sued?” But when Wright finally filed a complaint of libel against him in the UK High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division in 2019, McCormack seemed to have lost his bravado.
McCormack attempted to delay discovery, which is the process of handing in evidence by both parties. Because of this delay, he was asked to pay Wright £18,500. After discovery, in which McCormack tweeted that “Craig Wright submitted a crazy amount of evidence that he is Satoshi,” the social media influencer again suffered a great loss. Stablecoin Tether, which has been financially backing him in the lawsuit, backed out.
Craig Wright submitted a crazy amount of evidence that he is Satoshi in my lawsuit. What’s your point? https://t.co/Y130Zaw7vy
— Pedro ☠️ (@PeterMcCormack) December 4, 2020
Tether’s about-face is a sign of more bad news to come. McCormack’s legal team then appealed to the High Court that they will forgo the truth defense. Using the truth defense means that McCormack will no longer be trying to prove that his statements against Wright are true.
In a sense, McCormack is admitting to the High Court that his statements are false and that Wright is indeed the real identity of the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto who created Bitcoin.
It also means that the trial is now focused on proving whether or not McCormack’s statements caused serious damage to Wright’s reputation. This may be a calculated move to winning the lawsuit as the burden of proof has been transferred to Wright’s camp.
Even though McCormack has abandoned the truth defense, his legal team still submitted evidence that aimed to discredit the fact that Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto. The court rejected the evidence and asked him to pay 90,000 to Wright for this underhanded move.
Having to pay a total of £108,500 before trial even started and with no Tether to pay for it, McCormack then delayed payment. For this, the High Court ordered him to go to London to present a status of his finances, which then forced him to pay the full amount plus interest.
McCormack then tried to appeal to the sympathy of his followers by saying that he is in debt of about £500,000 to his lawyers because he was sued by Wright. But after a while, he boasted about having a new sports car and “buying” the Real Bedford FC football team.
When questioned during the trial, McCormack then admitted that he did not actually buy the football team. Instead, he just took over it under the pretext that he will provide pre-selling sponsorship rights to cryptocurrency companies in exchange.
The Verdict
The Wright v McCormack verdict, released on August 1, 2022, states that the Honorable Mr Justice Chamberlain has found McCormack guilty of defamation against Wright that caused serious harm on all 15 Publications.
“The tweet by Hotep Jesus indicating that he had been persuaded by Mr McCormack that Dr Wright was a fraud provides evidence supporting the inference that Publication 16 in fact caused serious harm to Dr Wright’s reputation by lowering that reputation in the eyes of at least one influential individual,” Justice Chamberlain stated in the released High Court Approved Judgment.
“In the light of the matters discussed at [132]-[138] above, I find it more likely than not that each of the Publications caused serious harm to Dr Wright’s reputation,” Justice Chamberlain added.
It is a clear win for Wright. Not only was McCormack forced to completely give up on proving that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto in the trial, but he was also found guilty of all charges of defamation. However, the fact that Justice Chamberlain only awarded him nominal damages amounting to a measly £1 has again become fuel for Wright’s critics to disparage him on social media.
It seems that McCormack’s supporters are forgetting the fact that McCormack already paid £108,500 plus interest to Wright before trial had even begun. On top of this, Wright can still appeal Justice Chamberlain’s decision to award nominal damages.
It must be remembered that Wright also won the Kleiman v Wright trial last year in Florida. Ira Kleiman, estranged brother of Wright’s friend David Kleiman, sued Wright claiming that David Kleiman’s estate is entitled to half of the 1.1 million Satoshi coins amounting to over $600 billion due to a partnership between Wright and David Kleiman in creating Bitcoin.
The Kleiman v Wright jury ruled that there was no partnership and that Wright alone created Bitcoin as Satoshi Nakamoto. After this vindication, Wright has also come out victorious in this libel case against McCormack. Whether or not Wright’s detractors continue to paint him as a fraud, the courts of law in two countries have now sided with him.
