- Wright: Kraken and Coinbase are inflicting damage on BSV by allowing BTC trading
- The judge does not believe Wright has enough money to pay legal costs
Craig Wright, an Australian computer expert who claims he owns the concepts underlying Bitcoin because he is Satoshi Nakamoto, will have to pay GBP 400,000 ($516,000) in legal costs to pursue his claims against crypto exchanges Kraken and Coinbase, CoinDesk reported.
Wright does not possess sufficient funds
James Mellor, a UK judge, does not believe Wright has enough money to pay these legal costs. He cites lack of evidence that Wright and his investment firm have sufficient liquidity to cover the court’s fees. Unless Wright provides security within a few weeks, Mellor will strike out the action.
Wright claims that Kraken and Coinbase are inflicting damage on Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV), a crypto that rivals Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, by allowing Bitcoin trading and Bitcoin Cash trading.
Allegedly, Wright used a trust to shift assets and render himself “financially untouchable.” His testimony also appears to be inconsistent with what he gave in another hearing involving Dave Kleiman, his purported and late business partner.
Court threw out the case in 2021
In late 2021, a federal jury found that Wright had never been in partnership with the computer forensics expert Dave Kleiman. The court ruled Kleiman’s brother Ira, who was suing Wright, would have to pay damages of $100 million.
Wright testified that Dave Kleiman had been a friend who helped him edit a whitepaper clarifying the foundation of Bitcoin, but not a business partner. Kleiman died in 2013.
Kraken: An important victory in our defense
A Kraken spokesperson emailed CoinDesk saying that the ruling was an important victory in the exchange’s defense against Wright’s claims to control Bitcoin. The spokesperson stated that the mythical Satoshi “never meant for a single person to control Bitcoin,” and that’s why he made the Bitcoin software universally available under open-source licenses.
