The pseudonymous Bitcoin.org operator lost an appeal on a November ruling that said he cannot challenge legal fees from the self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor while remaining anonymous.
Bitcoin.org Hacked By Scammers For A Few Minutes. Someone Sent Them 0.4 BTC
Hackers took over the Bitcoin.org website and displayed the classic double your money scam for a few minutes today. Apparently, it was a DNS hack. Luckily, the Bitcoin community took notice and alerted Cobra, the pseudonymous website owner, as well as the company that hosted the domain. A few minutes later, Bitcoin.org was down. Sadly, a credulous person was faster than them and sent 0.4 BTC to the displayed address… or did he?
Someone sent half a bitcoin🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/pnyJIHJZIN
— Harrison Bergeron (@coinableS) September 23, 2021
The transaction exists, but there’s a rumor that it might’ve been the scammers themselves, trying to make the operation look reputable. Just like a busker who put some change in his hat to encourage others to contribute. However, that’s just a rumor. Someone might’ve been scammed.
Related Reading | Old Bitcoin Miner Proves Craig Wright has No Access to 145 Tulip Trust Addresses
In any case, everybody else should thank Matt Corallo, a Bitcoin Core contributor who took it upon himself to contact the domain name registrars and managed to convince them to temporarily take down the site before some catastrophe happened.
Namecheap to the rescue, thanks y'all https://t.co/HfmQVvUDt9
— Matt Corallo (@TheBlueMatt) September 23, 2021
What Does The Bitcoin.org Owner Think About All Of This?
When Cobra announced the Bitcoin.org hack, he or she said, “Currently looking into how the hackers put up the scam modal on the site.” So far, there’s no information on that. Cobra also said that Bitcoin.org “May be down for a few days,” but luckily that wasn’t necessary.
https://t.co/OsFgRFRRZb has been compromised. Currently looking into how the hackers put up the scam modal on the site. May be down for a few days.
— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) September 23, 2021
Earlier in the day, Cobra contacted via Twitter their new hosting company Cloudflare and told them that the website has never been hacked, and now that he moved to their servers, this happened. The company responded, and eventually, the original tweet disappeared.
BTC price chart for 09/23/2021 on Bittrex | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Does This Have Anything To Do With Craig Wright AKA Faketoshi Nakamoto?
A few months ago, both Cobra and Bitcoin.org made worldwide news. Craig Wright, Australian entrepreneur and Satoshi Nakamoto cosplay artist, got a UK court to order the website to remove the Bitcoin Whitepaper from its servers. At the time, Yahoo! finance informed:
“Cobra, the pseudonymous creator of the Bitcoin.org website, has been ordered by London’s High Court to discontinue hosting its copy of the Bitcoin white paper.
Citing copyright infringement brought forward by nChain Chief Scientist Craig Wright, the judge had no option but to rule a default judgment because Cobra chose not to make an appearance.”
https://t.co/yc0aKbZcer is Hacked by Scam. pic.twitter.com/2qmRMS2lJh
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 23, 2021
Does the hack have anything to do with Craig Wright? There’s not a single clue to indicate that, but, rumors are flying. He’s the only one incentivized to attack Bitcoin.org, they say. However, 0.4 BTC is a pretty great incentive. Maybe the scammers were just interested in scamming.
Related Reading | Craig Wright Wins Lawsuit On Bitcoin.org Hosting Bitcoin Whitepaper
In any case, to close all the loops, Yahoo quotes Cobra explaining why he chose not to make an appearance in court:
“Unfortunately the court rules allowed for me to be sued pseudonymously, however, I couldn’t defend myself pseudonymously. So I was put in an impossible situation of losing my privacy or losing the case in a default judgment.”
So, to sum it all up, Bitcoin.org is back up again and no one scammed you. All is well that ends well.
Featured Image: Screenshoot from the hacked website | Charts by TradingView
Craig Wright Wins Lawsuit On Bitcoin.org Hosting Bitcoin Whitepaper
Craig Wright has won a copyright lawsuit over the Bitcoin Whitepaper following the defendant’s refusal, Bitcoin.org operator “Cøbra,” to affect a defense.
The self-proclaimed BTC owner and BSV advocate plaintiff have since launched a legal campaign against bitcoin.org.
Craig Wright’s disgruntlement lays claims to copyright violation on the part of the informational website for publishing “his” digital currency whitepaper.
Cobra To Remove Whitepaper
David Hodge QC, the judge who presided over the case, issued an injunction ordering Cobra to take down the hosting of the information on the website. It also forbade from infringing on Wright’s whitepaper copyright henceforth.
The judgment, which is mainly U.K.-bound, implies that Cobra’s Bitcoin.org is hence forbidden from making the white paper accessible to, view, download, or “in any other way.”
Related Reading | Polygon (MATIC) Announces Launch Of New Blockchain Project, ‘Avail’
The injunction, additionally, partly mandates bitcoin.org to publish a copy of the court’s ruling on the case. The examination to ascertain the total damages incurred by the “victorious” plaintiff was also granted.
However, for the time being, Cobra’s Bitcoin.org, as part of compensation for Craig Wright’s expenses on the legal pursuit, must cough up at least 35,000 GBP ($48,600).
Cobra Fits Of Anger
In reaction to the verdict, Cobra has taken to his Twitter page to lampoon the prominent digital currency and court credibility.
All your fiat based assets are ultimately secured by the same legal system that today made it illegal for me to host the Bitcoin whitepaper because a notorious liar swore before a judge that he’s Satoshi. A system where ‘justice’ depends on who’s got the bigger wallet.
— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) June 28, 2021
In his statement, he termed the whole legal scenario as a free quality advert exhibiting “why Bitcoin is more unnecessary.” He termed its acclaimed owner, Craig White, “a notorious liar” who had sworn falsely before the court.
Relating Reading | UK Regulators Prohibit Binance, What’s Ahead For The Crypto Exchange?
He accused the legal system of a double standard, saying the same system that secures people’s fiat-based assets made it illegal for me to publish the whitepaper.
Tongue-lashing the court, Cobra belittles the credibility of court-based legal proceedings, as they are subjected to corruption by those who “can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars” in them.
I don’t think you could get a better advertisement of *why* Bitcoin is necessary than what happened today.
Rules enforced through cryptography are far more superior than rules based on whoever can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in court.
— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) June 28, 2021
“A system where ‘justice’ depends on who’s got the bigger wallet,” he said.
What’s Bitcoin.org?
Cobra’s Bitcoin.org is an independent, open-source operation with the main objectives to promote the cryptocurrency’s growth. The website and its creator and operator, Cobra, have been encapsulated in a spate of legal threats, mainly from the nChain Chief Scientist – Craig Wright.
Craig’s Unending Victorious Legal Battle
The victory will mean a secondary legal success for Craig White within a month. Recall, last week, a Judge accepted Wright’s “Autism Defense,” saying no to sanctioning.
The ruling was against a motion filed by the Kleiman legal team on May 21, petitioning that sanctions be imposed rather than proceeding to trial. This was in response to their claims that Wright “committed perjury, produced forgeries, and engaged in judicial abuse.”
The bullish behavior across crypto shows it will claim $40k mark | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Despite all the legal battles, BTC seems to have embarked on a journey of reclaiming its mark of $40k as the bulls show immense strength.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView.com
Craig Wright wins default judgment, Bitcoin.org must remove Bitcoin Whitepaper
Bitcoin.org must now remove the Bitcoin whitepaper, host a notice referring to the court’s judgment, and pay $48,600 to cover Wright’s legal costs.
