On Monday, a London High Court judge upheld an earlier decision stating that Bitcoin.org website owners, including the fictitious Cobra, must reveal their identities to avoid being charged expensive legal fees by self-declared Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright.In April 2021, Wright served Cobra with legal documents pertaining to the copyright of the whitepaper for Bitcoin, the popular cryptocurrency.The owners of the website for the Bitcoin.org payment network were accused of violating the author’s rights by posting the white paper, according to the Australian computer scientist who has long claimed to be its pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto.Wright asserted that he owned the copyright to the Bitcoin manifesto in his capacity as Satoshi.
A judge commanded the removal of the white paper from the internet when Cobra failed to appear in court.Then, in November, a London High Court Judge decided that Cobra had to provide their identity in order to contest Wright’s request for 568,516.42 pounds ($704,500) in legal expenses.
Justice Richard Smith of the London High Court dismissed Cobra’s appeal of the November ruling on Monday, stating that while there are a number of legitimate justifications for parties seeking anonymity, such as a threat to their lives, Cobra’s justifications appeared “not only unworkable but also risked undermining the very principles of natural justice” because they sought to remain anonymous “not only against the public at large, but against the Claimant [Wright] a party.”
The struggle of Cobra to maintain anonymity may be understood by the fact that significant community members, developers, or influencers sometimes go by pseudonyms in the cryptosphere.While this is going on, Wright is suing people all over the world for the Bitcoin whitepaper and even for libel for claiming to be Satoshi.Wright’s attorneys reported on Monday that they are awaiting a decision regarding the following steps, including whether Cobra is now compelled to make full payment.Cobra’s legal counsel did not immediately reply to a request for comment.