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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Robert Booth UK technology editor

Man who falsely claimed to be bitcoin creator sentenced for continuing to sue developers

Craig Wright in a suit
Craig Wright had claimed intellectual property rights associated with Bitcoin, but that was demolished when the high court found he lied about his role. Photograph: Marta Lavandier/AP

An Australian computer scientist who falsely claimed to be the creator of bitcoin has been given a one-year suspended prison sentence after the high court in London ruled he was in contempt because he would not stop suing people.

Mr Justice Mellor had already found that Craig Wright, 54, repeatedly lied about his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym used by the person or people who launched bitcoin – the cryptocurrency that was first mined in 2009 and recently soared in value to £79,000.

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