Crypto lawsuit against Craig Wright and Bitcoin SV takes another turn as the case proceeds in court despite requests for delay
Craig Wright’s name has repeatedly surfaced in the crypto world, and this latest development appears unlikely to be the last. Legal filings show that a lawsuit involving Wright will continue in court early next year. The dispute centers on claims to Wright’s early Bitcoin holdings.
In recent court battles, Wright’s attempt to have the case dismissed through a summary judgment was denied. Court records indicate the dispute concerns Bitcoin assets valued at roughly one billion US dollars.
The current case
In February 2018, Ira Kleiman filed a lawsuit on behalf of his late brother, David Kleiman, against Craig Wright. The complaint alleges that David Kleiman was entitled to half of Wright’s Bitcoin proceeds based on a partnership the two allegedly formed in Bitcoin’s early days to mine cryptocurrency. The matter has proceeded through litigation since then, and additional documents were compiled earlier this year.
Wright recently moved for summary judgment seeking to resolve the matter without a trial. His motion advanced two principal arguments. First, he claimed the alleged partnership ended in 2011, which would bar further legal claims. Second, he argued there was no enforceable oral agreement between the parties.
Motion denied, trial will go forward
However, the motion was denied in an order signed by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Florida. The court filing also concluded that Kleiman and Wright did, in fact, “share control over [their] private Bitcoin keys,” citing messages exchanged between the two men as part of the record.
The trial is scheduled to resume in January of next year. Wright and Bitcoin SV have previously attracted attention and controversy for a variety of reasons.
Criticisms of the project have focused on its large block sizes and a relatively small network, raising questions about its practical implementation and legitimacy. Wright himself has periodically made contentious claims, most notably asserting that he is the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto—an assertion that remains widely disputed.