An Australian computer scientist and businessman named Craig Wright is one of the biggest names in cryptocurrency for insisting that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin. Since 2015, Wright has said he wrote the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008 and wrote its code, though many have questioned his statements and legal cases have been filed against him. Various actions on his part, lawsuits and accusations of forgery, have led to many disputes within the crypto world, ultimately ending with a 2024 UK High Court decision stating Craig Wright is not Satoshi. Wright’s wealth is thought to range from $20 million to $70 million in 2025 and his story mixes his ambition with deceit and aftermath in the courts. This article examines the story behind Satoshi’s identity, how he managed his huge wealth and the conflicts that make up his crypto legacy.
The Satoshi Nakamoto Claim
Wright first appeared on the radar in December 2015, as Wired and Gizmodo pointed out links from leaked documents showing he was involved with Bitcoin at the beginning. During May 2016, he declared he was Satoshi, saying he would provide proof by using cryptographic signatures from the first Bitcoin block. Unfortunately, the only proof he gave—a signature on a blog post—could not be verified, as Dan Kaminsky and similar experts found it designed to resist any kind of validation. Despite claiming his team of deceased colleagues provided him with Bitcoin code, Wright never gave a signed transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The information Nakamoto presented sparked lots of interest and drew praise from Gavin Andresen, who said in 2016 that seeing a demo convinced him it was real. Later on, in 2021, Andresen publicly admitted that he was wrong. The copyright application by Wright for the Bitcoin whitepaper filed in 2019 was not successful, as the Copyright Office said it did not prove his role. By 2024, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) went to London’s High Court seeking to prevent Wright from making false claims and starting lawsuits against Bitcoin developers. Judge James Mellor decided on March 14, 2024, that Wright could not be Satoshi because of “overwhelming evidence” suggesting he forged documents and lied, a judgment backed in May 2024 with a detailed report on 47 forgeries.
Problems Related to Lawsuits and Questionable Documents
Wright’s statement spurred a decade full of legal action. In 2019, Mr. Nakamoto filed suits against Peter McCormack and user Hodlonaut for saying he had not built Bitcoin, claiming their words damaged his reputation. McCormack’s case, supported by Jack Dorsey and Coinbase, was extremely costly, but it only partly achieved its goal—and did not prove Wright was Satoshi. A 2022 decision from Norway granted Hodlonaut the right to call Craig Wright a fraud because of the evidence against him.
In 2018, Kleiman’s estate took legal action, saying Wright tricked Kleiman out of owning 1.1 million Bitcoins (valued at $65 billion in 2021) and his intellectual property rights. In 2021, Wright won the case and managed to avoid a big payout, however, the court realized his written evidence was not trustworthy. On October 1st 2024, Wright complained in court, alleging that both the Bitcoin Core developers and Square had drifted from the original Bitcoin protocol and that this led to the blocking of his wallet. This broke a 2024 court order stopping him from being Satoshi, resulting in a contempt charge, a December 2024 verdict and a one-year prison sentence that was suspended.
The 2024 COPA trial made his so-called “grand scale” forgeries clear, including blog posts dated previously and LaTeX documents mirroring the whitepaper, but both unable to exist in 2008. Mellor said Wright was misleading and his lies were evidence of his biggest lie—stating he was Nakamoto. Since those appeals started in July 2024, they have barely been noticed and the World Police claim Wright’s record is ruined.
Dealing with Personal Finances
According to estimates in 2025, Craig Wright’s fortune has formed largely through his role in Bitcoin SV which he strongly backs as the real Bitcoin. Before, BSV’s market value exceeded $1 billion, but today it is much less, likely mainly because Wright held large amounts early on. His statement in 2019 that he owned 5% of BSV’s market cap meant $50 million, but court costs and living expenses may have eaten into that amount.
Wright started DeMorgan Ltd. which gained $54 million in tax incentives in Australia and also headed the Hotwire Preemptive Intelligence Group aimed at a Bitcoin bank, but it failed in 2014 when the ATO investigated his activities. Authorities raided his Sydney home in 2015 over tax evasion charges, a few months after he told the media he created Bitcoin. He gets paid through services and promotion for BSV and nChain, backed by active investors, but his money is threatened by lawsuits and a prospective ATO case.
Effects on the people in the crypto world
Because of Wright’s views, the crypto community was hit hard by BSV which he presented as the true Satoshi vision. After the March 2024 ruling, the market rejected BSV and its price fell by 40%. When he sued developers and critics, including McCormack, it raised concerns among those working in the open-source sector, since it looked as if he wanted to keep complete ownership of Bitcoin. Thanks to COPA and Dorsey, Coinbase, Bitcoin’s code is still free from any claims by Craig Wright.
2024 saw X posts, for instance from @Excellion with a claim that “Craig Wright is a fraud” and from @digitalnaut saying he “did not create Bitcoin.” These posts express what the community feels. In 2019, a hashtag campaign called #WeAreAllHodlonaut helped gather $15,000 to defend Hodlonaut against defamation suits. Wright’s actions, like a 2019 bounty for finding out Hodlonaut’s identity, irritated many in the crypto community. Binance’s Changpeng Zhao even listed Wright as a “fraud” and removed BSV from the platform.
Events That Cause Drama and Topics of Controversy
Wright is being opposed because he hasn’t proven his invention cryptographically, relies on fake evidence and faces legal challenges. On Reddit, other readers said his action of stomping a hard drive to destroy Satoshi’s keys was laughed at and called him a “clown.” His slap on the wrist for contempt with no jail time clearly doesn’t work as a strong penalty. X people such as @ghost_prick, praised him for becoming the world’s first Faketoshi.
WSJ reported that Vitalik Buterin referred to Wright’s marketing of BSV as similar to the earlier scam with BitConnect. When Craig Wright said in 2019 that Kleiman and Finney helped build Bitcoin, there was no real evidence which made people question his claims. People in the community describe his motives as fame and control and @CoinDesk pointed out the lies he told in 2024.
What’s Coming Next
Because of the legal and publicity problems Wright is dealing with, it is unclear what comes next for him. Because of the new rulings, Craig Wright can no longer launch lawsuits claiming Satoshi in the UK, but he still intends to fight the decision. The ATO is still facing a possible tax criminal case that could harm its finances, as the case started years ago. Because Bitcoin does not need Wright, he is primarily remembered for fraud and upsets, serving as a reminder to others in the crypto world.
FAQS
1. Did Craig Wright invent Bitcoin?
The High Court ruled in 2024 that Wright did not write the Bitcoin whitepaper or the code.
2. How much is Phil Wright worth in 2025?
Roger Ver is considered worth between $20 million and $70 million, with the largest portion coming from BSV holdings and his involvement in nChain, but these could change if conflicts end in his favor.
3. Why did the court find Wright guilty of contempt of court?
In December 2024, Craig filed a $1.15 trillion suit that claimed he was Satoshi, garnering one year in prison with it suspended.
4. What is Bitcoin SV (BSV) all about?
In 2018 Wright forked Bitcoin and marketed BSV as the “original Bitcoin.” When he lost the 2024 election in court, the value fell by 40%.
5. Why does the crypto community not welcome Wright?
There is widespread suspicion of him because there is no cryptographic proof and he has filed lawsuits against Hodlonaut.
