The self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright, has filed yet another lawsuit within the cryptocurrency industry. This time, he has targeted the developers of BTC, BCH, BSV, and BCH ABC requesting that they retrieve access to BTC stolen from his personal computer worth about $5 billion.
Wright has publicly claimed that he is the person behind the Bitcoin network for years – Satoshi Nakamoto. This narrative, which lacks any conclusive evidence, has been highlighted once more by the latest law firm that will represent him in his most recent lawsuit against representatives of the cryptocurrency space.
Ontier, a UK-based litigation law firm, has published a press release asserting that it has informed the developers of Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCH ABC) of the lawsuit.
With these “ground-breaking legal proceedings,” the firm acts on behalf of Tulip Trading Limited (TTL) – a Seychelles-based company with a primary beneficial owner – Craig Wright. The nature of the lawsuit is somewhat controversial, to say the least.
“In February 2020, Dr. Wright’s personal computer was hacked by persons unknown and encrypted private keys to two addresses, which hold substantial quantities of Bitcoin belonging to TTL, were stolen. These assets were, and continue to be, owned by TTL. The theft is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Cyber Crime division of the South East England Regional Organized Crime Unit.”
Consequently, the lawsuit has requested that the developers “enable TTL to regain access to and control of its Bitcoin on the grounds that they owe Bitcoin owners both tortious and fiduciary duties under English law as a result of the high level of power and control they hold over their respective blockchains.”
Per their estimation, the sizeable amount has a value of over £3.5 billion or about $5 billion.
Paul Ferguson, a Partner at Ontier, commented that Wright, the supposed creator of BTC, has “always intended Bitcoin to operate within existing laws.” Moreover, he believes that the Bitcoin developers have the power and obligation to deploy code to “enable the rightful owner to regain control” of his assets.
Should Wright’s lawsuit succeed, others in a similar position could follow suit, added Ferguson.
Craig Wright is no stranger to initiating lawsuits against crypto industry representatives. In his previous one, his lawyers requested two Bitcoin-related websites to remove the BTC whitepaper, which received quite adverse reactions from the community.
Featured Image Courtesy of TheConversation