The true identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto has been revealed: he goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto.
That’s the contention of Newsweek, whose brilliant cover art appears below, illustrating the supposed revelation that the cryptocurrency mastermind wasn’t using an online pseudonym when he created Bitcoin back in 2007 after all.
Newsweek cover, credit Newsweek
A reporter who tracked down and tried to speak to the Japanese-American man on his front lawn in Temple City, California, only got a couple of questions in before the cops ‘Nakamoto’ called arrived, but they were revealing.
The article reads: "Tacitly acknowledging his role in the Bitcoin project, he looks down, staring at the pavement and categorically refuses to answer questions.
"I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it," he says, dismissing all further queries with a swat of his left hand. "It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection."
Nakamoto refused to say any more, and the police made it clear our conversation was over."
It’s kind of ridiculous to think that Nakamoto may not have actually hidden his identity online considering what his creation has become, and his appearance, in a "rumpled T-shirt, old blue jeans and white gym socks" is odd for a man who holds two million bitcoins.
However, his dishevelled appearance and modest home (below) might be explained by the nature of Bitcoin. All transactions and mined coins are publicly viewable – that’s how people know he has two million of them.
That means people know his wallet address, and could potentially track him down if he made another transaction from his wallet to spend those bitcoins or change them into legal tender.
Poor Nakamoto – a man condemned to reap little reward from his own creation all in the name of his privacy – which then gets blown apart.
Nakamoto’s alleged home, from Google Street View, credit to Mikko Hypponen
