Craig Wright Wins in U.S. Appeals Court Case on Disputed Bitcoin Holdings
In a recent development, Craig Wright, who has declared himself as the originator of Bitcoin, emerged victorious in a U.S. Appeals Court case involving a significant amount of disputed cryptocurrency. The judges of the Eleventh Circuit stated that Wright, who has asserted he is the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto, was not in a legal partnership with David Kleiman, the deceased, during their purported joint mining of bitcoin more than ten years ago.
According to the Appeal Court judges, the Kleiman estate, now represented by David’s brother Ira, failed to demonstrate any incorrect legal standards or clear errors of judgment that led to the dismissal of sanctions imposed on Craig Wright for purportedly obstructing the legal process.
The ruling confirms the decision made by a Florida jury in 2021, regarding the Kleiman estate’s claim to half of the mined bitcoin, which is purportedly valued at billions. Despite criticisms of Wright’s legal team delving into the Kleimans’ familial relations, the judges noted that this action did not significantly impact the jury’s deliberations.
Notably, the appeal did not address the $100 million payment previously ordered against Wright in favor of W&K Info Defense Research, a company established by Kleiman, with an ongoing separate dispute.
In a separate legal matter, Craig Wright has filed a lawsuit against a group of crypto developers in the U.K. for their refusal to incorporate a backdoor mechanism in a bitcoin-based software. This mechanism was purportedly intended to enable his company, Tulip Trading, to regain access to crypto assets it claims to have lost. A 2022 ruling by Norwegian judge Helen Engebrigtsen, describing Wright as a “fraud” and “scammer” for his assertion of being Nakamoto, has been appealed.
