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A Bit-ter dispute: libel claims & lis pendens

21 April 2021 / Valya Georgieva , Jeremy Clarke-Williams
Issue: 7929 / Categories: Features , Defamation , Cyber
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Valya Georgieva & Jeremy Clarke-Williams consider the landmark Court of Appeal decision on lis pendens under the Lugano Convention in a Bitcoin libel dispute
  • Lis pendens doctrine applied in global defamation claims.
  • Criteria for determining whether parallel proceedings involve the same cause of action under Art 27 of the Lugano Convention.

Bitcoin continues its roller-coaster ride after recently hitting a new record high of US$64,000. Aside from the growing cryptoeconomy, the increasing buy-in from institutional investors and the increasing scope of cryptocurrency regulation, one other factor that has the potential to affect the price of cryptocurrency is the disclosure of the identity of Bitcoin’s mysterious inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto (Satoshi).

Since 2016 (seven years after the creation of Bitcoin), Craig Wright (Dr Wright), an Australian computer scientist and businessman, has claimed to be Satoshi, a statement doubted by many in the crypto world.

In January 2021, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in the case of Craig Wright v Magnus Granath

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