One of the biggest stories of the day today is that Newsweek’s Leah McGrath Goodman revealed the alleged true identity of the supposed founder of Bitcoin, which had been credited to “Satoshi Nakamoto.”
In the detailed investigative report, the article alleges that the Bitcoin founder is a Japanese American man living in Southern California named Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto. Along with other personal and background information– including that the 64 year-old man is living with his mother and recently had troubles with cancer and a stroke– the article also published a photograph of the man, a photo of his car (with license plate showing) in the driveway of his house, as well as identifying the city of his residence. Within hours, the location of his home was identified and a media storm descended upon his home. Online, reaction swiftly condemned the journalist for revealing the home address of this man and possibly putting his life at risk (the Bitcoin founder is worth at least $400m in Bitcoin, as of now).
Although Dorian Nakamoto denies being the founder of Bitcoin, it didn’t stop reporters from chasing him across town, according to the Los Angeles Times. Nakamoto said he would speak to only one reporter and then accepted a invitation to a free lunch with an AP reporter while other reporters followed and camped outside. It was covered as the “Bitcoin chase” live via social media and the Los Angeles Times.
So, is Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto the founder of Bitcoin? Well, the jury is still out on that, but one AP reporter certainly will be getting the scoop of his life for the cost of a sushi lunch. More to come, I’m sure.
UPDATE 3/6/2014: The “chosen” AP reporter was Ryan Nakashima whose exclusive article was published at 9:45pm Pacific Time: MAN SAID TO CREATE BITCOIN DENIES IT. Also, the original Satoshi Nakamoto P2P Foundation account owner replied to a very old post with a message: “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.“
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Disgusted
- Sad
- Angry
