Crypto Controversy Wright Ordered to Pay 225000 in Legal Fees After AI Appeal Fails

Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, has been ordered to pay £225,000 in legal fees by a London court. This ruling comes after Wright was found to have improperly used artificial intelligence (AI) in his appeal against an earlier High Court decision that he is not Satoshi Nakamoto.

In March 2024, a London court ruled that Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto and had lied extensively during the trial. The court also barred Wright from making any further legal cases against the crypto industry. COPA (Crypto Open Patent Alliance) and other Bitcoin groups defended themselves in court and requested that Wright pay their legal costs.

On Thursday, Lord Justice Arnold ordered Wright to pay £100,000 to cover COPA’s costs and £125,000 for the other crypto developers’ costs. The judge argued that the fines were appropriate because Wright’s appeal lacked merit. Wright had used AI models to compose his appeal, resulting in convoluted and, at times, irrelevant writing. The AI model used out-of-date case law to present Wright’s appeal, which was still in its infancy regarding legal defense.

Lord Justice Arnold dismissed Wright’s case in the Court of Appeal, stating that it was unnecessarily complicated and disproportionate to the case. Wright had attempted to appeal the High Court’s ruling that he was not the creator of Bitcoin. The judge also noted that Wright’s use of AI had the potential to mislead the court with unnecessary information.

In December 2024, Wright was sentenced to 12 months in prison for contempt of court for issuing a new claim of £900 billion related to Bitcoin, despite being barred from making any more cases. Lord Justice Arnold presided over that case as well. Thursday’s ruling by the Court of Appeals may be the first case in which a person is ordered to pay costs because of their misuse of artificial intelligence (AI).

COPA asked the court to issue a Civil Restraint Order (CRO) against Wright to stop him from creating court cases for three years. Jonathan Hough KC, representing COPA, stated that Wright had misused the legal system to “terrorize” his perceived enemies. Hough further requested that the Attorney General extend the restraint order from three years to a longer