‘Father’ of Bitcoin, Craig Wright, wins $54bn ownership case

The self-acclaimed ‘father’ and creator of Bitcoin, Craig Wright, has become the 26th richest man in the world after winning a whopping $54bn BTC ownership case.

Wright won the court case which supposedly confirms his status in the crypto community. Wright had been dragged to court by the family of his late business partner, Dave Kleiman, over the possession of 1.1 million Bitcoin, which is worth $54 billion.

Kleiman’s family had demanded that the late computer security expert deserves half of the Bitcoin assets, which they claimed he and Wright created, but was stolen by the latter following Kleiman’s death.

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There have been contention as to the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym) who is credited for creating and mining the first Bitcoin in 2009, with some people laying claim to the name, Wright being one of them.

In 2016, he stated that he was Nakamoto, but his claim was disputed. However, the lawsuit in Miami, United States, has renewed Wright’s assertion.

Kleiman’s family had also fueled Wright’s claim during the lawsuit, despite the jury voting in favour of Wright to own the 1.1 million BTC.

The court decision means Wright’s networth is estimated to be above $54 billion, placing him in 26 position on Forbes billionaires list, above David Thompson & Family who is worth $53.3 billion, and just below Robin Zeng, valued at $56.6 billion.

In his reaction to the jury’s decision, Wright said it had vindicated him on claims of being the founder of Bitcoin.

“The jury has obviously found that I am because there would have been no award otherwise. This has been a remarkable good outcome and I feel completely vindicated,” he said.

Meanwhile, despite getting to keep the Bitcoins, the jury ruled that Wright pays $100 million to Kleiman’s family and estate for intellectual property infringement.