A court in the United Kingdom has frozen £6 million ($7.6 million) in assets belonging to Craig Wright, who claims to be the creator of the Bitcoin network, Satoshi Nakamoto. This action was taken to prevent Wright from avoiding the court costs associated with the matter.
Following a court ruling that discredited Wright's claim to be Nakamoto, he transferred a portion of his assets out of the UK, which prompted the court to freeze his assets. On March 18, Wright transferred ownership of his London company, RCJBR Holding, to an organization in Singapore, as noted in a court filing.
Judge James Mellor expressed concerns that Wright was attempting to evade the trial's costs, leading the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) to seek a freeze on $8,471,225 (£6,703,747.91) in court costs. COPA was created in 2020 to remove patents as a barrier to innovation in the cryptocurrency industry.
Wright, an Australian computer scientist, has claimed ownership of the Bitcoin network under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. He was sued by COPA in 2021 for claiming to be Nakamoto and owning the copyright to Bitcoin. The court concluded on March 14, 2024, that evidence from early Bitcoin developers contradicts Wright's claims of being Nakamoto.
