Bitcoin Trial: Defendant Wins Dispute Over $50 Billion in Bitcoin

Bitcoin Trial: Defendant Wins Dispute Over $50 Billion in Bitcoin
Dr. Craig Wright arrives at the Federal Courthouse in Miami, on Nov. 16, 2021. Marta Lavandier/AP Photo
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NEW YORK—Craig Wright, a computer scientist who claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin, prevailed in a civil trial verdict Monday against the family of a deceased business partner that claimed it was owed half of a cryptocurrency fortune worth tens of billions.

A Florida jury found that Wright did not owe half of 1.1 million Bitcoin to the family of David Kleiman. The jury did award $100 million in intellectual property rights to a joint venture between the two men, a fraction of what Kleiman’s lawyers were asking for at trial.