Share this article
UK Supreme Court Refuses Craig Wright Appeal
In July a panel of judges ruled that Wright was only entitled to just 1 GBP in compensation for a libel claim against bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack.
Updated Mar 8, 2024, 8:32 p.m. Published Jan 26, 2024, 12:02 a.m.
The U.K. Supreme Court denied Craig Wright permission to appeal a ruling in his case against Peter McCormack, a lawyer told CoinDesk on Thursday.
A posting from the Supreme Court later confirmed the ruling. "Permission to appeal is refused on the ground that the appeal does not raise an arguable question of law," read the denial.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
In July a panel of judges ruled that Wright was only entitled to 1 GBP in compensation for a libel claim against bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack, regarding Wright’s claim to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto.
"We actually only just found out about it but it was at the end of end of last year, [the] Supreme Court refused permission for Craig Wright's appeal," said Rupert Cowper-Coles, a partner at law firm RPC who represents McCormack. "So they're very pleased that judgment stands - [the] one pound nominal damages award, which Craig has tried to appeal twice unsuccessfully."
CoinDesk reached out to Wright's lawyers with the firm Shoosmiths and McCormack but did not hear back before press time.
Wright's latest loss comes amid a boiling point in another legal battle he is waging against a coterie of crypto companies and several bitcoin developers.
The group on Thursday rejected an offer to settle a years-long case alleging that it had violated Wright's alleged copyright to Bitcoin's white paper, blockchain database and file format by accessing the bitcoin network and its databases for their work.
"Hard pass on that 'settlement,'" the non-profit Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) tweeted. "The settlement offer isn't quite accurate either – it comes with loopholes that would allow him to sue people all over again."
COPA represents the 13 Bitcoin Core developers and companies such as Coinbase and Block named in Wright's original legal complaint from 2016.
Update (Jan 26 12:58 UTC): Adds Supreme Court confirmed news to par 1 and quote from Supreme Courts website to par 3.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Korbit fined $1.9 million for anti money-laundering, customer verification breaches
The South Korean regulator slapped Korbit with a compliance penalty as the crypto exchange conducts talks to be bought by Mirae Asset.
What to know:
- Korbit, a South Korean crypto exchange, was fined $1.9 million for anti-money laundering and customer verification breaches.
- The Financial Intelligence Unit said it found thousands of violations during an inspection in October 2024.
- Mirae Asset is in talks to acquire a majority stake in Korbit for up to $98 million.
Top Stories
