In what is a truly strange story that leaves more questions than answers, media source Newsweek has managed to track down the Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. And he isn’t at all what the rumors claimed he was.
We have all heard the fictitious stories surrounding Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto; he is a mysterious hacker in Tokyo who created a currency that could be used anonymously for anything legal or illegal. That he chose that name as a pseudonym to protect his identity, thanks to threats by shadowy governments that want his currency to fall.
According to Newsweek, the real story is nothing like that.
Nakamoto is a 64-year-old man who lives in California. The Japanese-American used his true name, and he has no connection to the young Tokyo hacker scene. Instead, he has worked with the US government and numerous corporations through his lifetime on work no one knows anything about. He has a degree in physics, but has worked in numerous fields.
His family had no idea he had created Bitcoin, which is perhaps one of the weirdest details. He was also so reluctant to speak about it that the moment a reporter knocked on his door he called the police.
My personal favorite detail of the story came when the reporter in question contacted Nakamoto’s brother, engineer Arthur Nakamoto. He said that his brother was brilliant and intelligent. But he also said:
My brother is an asshole. What you don’t know about him is that he’s worked on classified stuff. His life was a complete blank for a while. You’re not going to be able to get to him. He’ll deny everything. He’ll never admit to starting Bitcoin.
Huh.
The man in question won’t say anything about his role in the creation of the currency, though he did confirm his involvement in a roundabout way during the short time before police showed up at his home.
I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it. It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.
Satoshi Nakamoto: a modern day mystery. Given the nature of top secret projects that come to light once they are declassified, and his reluctance to even be on the phone with someone who would ask him about BitCoin, I would imagine there is a good reason he is keeping his distance.
Kind of makes you wonder what BitCoin was originally created for, doesn’t it?
Source: Newsweek
