CoinDesk reports that a London High Court judge has maintained a previous decision that operators of the Bitcoin.org website, including the fictitious Cbra, must reveal their identities to avoid paying hefty legal fees demanded by self-declared Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright. In April 2021, Wright served legal proceedings against Cbra regarding the copyright of the Bitcoin whitepaper, claiming that the website’s administrators had violated his rights by allowing the publication of the material. Wright asserts that he is the real Satoshi Nakamoto, and that he is the owner of the rights to the Bitcoin Manifesto.
A judge ruled that the white paper should be taken down from the website after C-Bra failed to show up for court. A London High Court Judge ruled in November that Cbra had to identify themselves in order to contest Wright’s request for £568,516.42 ($704,500) in legal expenses. This decision came in response to Cbra’s attempt to contest Wright’s request. Justice Richard Smith of the London High Court denied Cbra’s appeal of the November decision on Monday, finding that Cbra’s justifications for not identifying themselves appeared impracticable and ran the risk of undermining the concepts of natural justice.
In the cryptosphere, pseudonymous characters are common, therefore Cbra’s struggle to maintain her secrecy may make sense. Regarding the Bitcoin whitepaper and libel charges that he is Satoshi, Wright is now pursuing many legal actions across the globe. On Monday, Wright’s attorneys informed CoinDesk that they were awaiting a decision regarding the following steps, including whether Cbra was now forced to pay the whole amount. A CoinDesk request for comment was not immediately answered by legal counsel for C-bra.
