Craig Wright Awarded £1 in Damages in the Peter McCormack Case

The most controversial Bitcoin lawsuit of the year has come to an end, with U.K. High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain ruling that Dr. Craig Wright presented false evidence in his defamation action against Peter McCormack.

Wright Vs McCormack, the Case 

Many people have criticized Dr. Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin and the publisher of the cryptocurrency whitepaper in 2008. Satoshi, who vanished from the crypto world after publishing the initial version of his program, has never had his identity established.

Peter McCormack, a well-known crypto podcaster, was among several who disputed these allegations. He characterized Dr. Wright as a fraud in many tweets in 2019. Following a deleted tweet that said ” “Craig Wright is not Satoshi [sic]!… When do I get sued? This was followed by a YouTube broadcast in which McCormack labeled Wright a “liar.”

This was followed by a YouTube broadcast in which McCormack labeled Wright a “liar” and a “fake.”

Wright’s argument against McCormack hinged on his claim that such statements cost him money by preventing him from speaking at numerous gatherings and conferences.

In 2022, after a lengthy debate in court, Justice Chamberlain resolved the case by stating that Dr. Craig brought forward a purposely misleading argument. This comes after Wright subsequently revised his argument, removing major portions of the material he had previously presented, saying that the mistakes were unintentional. Judge Chamberlain dismissed the explanation as false.

Despite the damage to his image, he deceived the court several times by failing to provide full proof evidence on the Bitcoin White Paper.

The Process is not Complete

Following the news of the verdict, Peter McCormack took to Twitter to express his joy. He said that the process is not yet complete. Therefore, he would not be commenting further.

Many have gone on Twitter in massive numbers to support and congratulate McCormack on his win. Hodlr tweeted, “Congratulations Peter. Shame you had to go through this but your conduct has been exemplary throughout. Very dignified and an inspiration to all. Let me know where to send the £1 .”

In a congratulatory funny tweet, @Cobie tweets 

“I have decided to start raising money to support Peter in paying his hefty damages in the CSW trial. Every little helps. We are trying to raise £1. Please help if you are able to support. Thank you.”

Peter lost. The judge ruled he defamed Craig.

Despite the congratulatory messages, some have argued that Peter was found guilty of defaming Wright. Paalsky wrote in a tweet, “Craig Wright won again, and on all counts against Peter McCormack that was claiming Craig Wright’s claim to the Satoshi Nakamoto name was fraudulent.”

Even though the damages amount to zero, it means the arbitration Judge means Craig Wright won the case in that he managed to prove that Peter McCormack was liable for defamation on all counts. What is most likely to happen now is an expensive, and time-consuming appeals process will begin. Though there is nothing substantial for Dr. Wright to appeal, an appeal due to Justice Chamberlain’s significant decrease in damages is imminent.