Bitcoin (BTC) developers sued by the self-proclaimed inventor of the flagship digital asset, Craig Wright, have filed preliminary objections against claims that they failed in their fiduciary duty to help him recover over 100,000 BTC, worth roughly $2.5 billion, lost in a hack.
According to the preliminary application filed before a U.K. High Court, the BTC developers argued that there was no proof that Wright or his company owned or controlled the stolen assets.
No proof of ownership or control
On Aug. 21, the Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund said the 111,000 BTC is currently stored across two addresses, 12ib7 and 1FeeX. Notably, the 1FeeX address is associated with funds linked to the infamous 2014 Mt. Gox exchange hack.
According to the developers, if Wright claims to be the owner of the BTC in 1FeeX, then he has tacitly admitted to perpetrating the hack. Besides that, the developers pointed out that his company failed to show how Wright acquired the Bitcoin or any evidence of losing assets in a hack.
Therefore, the preliminary application seeks to put the burden of proving prior ownership of the 111,000 BTC on Wright. If granted, Wright will have to prove one-time ownership before the court can consider the question of fiduciary duty.
Meanwhile, the application highlighted Wright’s history of forgery and dishonesty in several cases, including court proceedings. They wrote:
“He has been shown to be a thoroughly dishonest individual and it is the position of the [defendants] that these proceedings are an attempt by Dr. Wright, through Tulip Trading Ltd, to use the English courts as an instrument of fraud. These are plainly serious allegations and they are not made lightly.”
Craig Wright’s relationship with the cryptocurrency community has been marked by suspicion, primarily stemming from his persistent assertions that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin.
Despite this controversy, Wright’s deep involvement with Bitcoin since its inception has afforded him significant influence, which he has strategically employed in various legal proceedings.
