Craigh Wright has a dubious reputation within the crypto space. For years, the Australian has presented himself as the mastermind behind Bitcoin, without ever having provided any valid evidence. The 52-year-old likes to overwhelm critics who doubt his version of the “truth” with waves of complaints. In June last year, for example, he won a copyright lawsuit against mysterious Bitcoin.org operator Cøbra, forcing the site to remove the Bitcoin whitepaper.
Last year, however, the self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor found himself in the dock. At that time, Ira Kleiman, the brother of one of Wright’s deceased former business partners, took the computer scientist to court. The accusation: Wright has intellectual property of the jointly founded company W&K Info Defense Research stolen and his business partners cheated.
Craigh Wright has to pay $100 million
The jury found Wright guilty of theft in December 2021 and ordered the Australian to pay $100 million in damages. He was cleared of the other allegations.
The self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor has not yet made the payment. As a disciplinary measure, a West Palm Beach, Florida, court has now imposed penalty interest of just over $43 million. That comes from one judicial decision from March 9th. In addition, Judge Beth Bloom ordered foreclosure of the $100 million demanded — how much of this staggering sum actually is in the alleged scammer’s possession is uncertain.
Within the crypto community, the verdict is now being celebrated with a mixture of enthusiasm and malice. For example, a user writes on Twitter: “It’s good that he’s a billionaire with all the Bitcoin. So that’s just a fine for a lunch.”
Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed Bitcoin mastermind has not yet commented on the penalty interest payment.
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