LONDON - An Australian computer scientist who claimed he invented bitcoin was on Tuesday referred to British prosecutors for alleged perjury by a judge at London's High Court, who found he lied "extensively and repeatedly" to support his false claim.

Craig Wright had long claimed to have been the author of a 2008 white paper, the foundational text of bitcoin, published under the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto".

But Judge James Mellor ruled in March that the evidence Wright was not Satoshi was "overwhelming", after a trial in a case brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) to stop Wright suing bitcoin developers.

The judge said in a written ruling on Tuesday that he was referring the case to Britain's Director of Public Prosecutions to consider whether Wright should be charged with perjury for lying on oath during the trial.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)