It was something for the movies. Press people flocking to one corner of the globe as if an alien life form was found there. Then there is the car chase as if an extraterrestrial commanded a vehicle and flicked its finger to make the car zoom away. Except that, all the frenzy was all about the virtual currency Bitcoin and its alleged founder, Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto.
After the publication Newsweek scooped that it has traced the founder of the cryptocurrency in a modest home in Temple City, the spotlight, amid all the Bitcoin craze happening these days, pointed to a frail looking, blank-faced Japanese guy who wants everything but the spotlight.
"I'd come here to try to find out more about Nakamoto and his humble life. It seemed ludicrous that the man credited with inventing Bitcoin - the world's most wildly successful digital currency, with transactions of nearly $500 million a day at its peak - would retreat to Los Angeles's San Gabriel foothills, hole up in the family home and leave his estimated $400 million of Bitcoin riches untouched. It seemed similarly implausible that Nakamoto's first response to my knocking at his door would be to call the cops. Now face-to-face, with two police officers as witnesses, Nakamoto's responses to my questions about Bitcoin were careful but revealing," Leah McGrath Goodman of Newsweek wrote.
While others think that Satoshi Nakamoto is just a pseudonym to hide the real identity of the father of the virtual currency, Newsweek was able to track down a 64-year-old man going by the name and with quite a passion for model trains. The individual's career is enveloped in a shroud of mystery - a clear genius who worked for big corporations and the military for their top secret projects - and seemed to have an arc that fits the timeline of the birth and development of Bitcoin.
"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," the alleged founder of Bitcoin denied any involvement with the project. Nakamoto has also called the police to drive the reporter away.
The man even claimed that he learned about Bitcoin a few weeks ago from his son who was contacted by media hoping to score an interview.
Details about the alternative currency first surfaced in 2008. The paper "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" written by a certain Satoshi Nakamoto surfaced. It suggested a cryptocurrency that will not rely on the existing banking system and government regulations.
Newsweek believed they have found the real Satoshi Nakamoto and did some more digging. It found out from Ilene Mitchell, the oldest daughter of Nakamoto, that his father was twice laid off during the 1990s and because of that, the man was not able to pay his taxes and mortgage. An event in Nakamoto's life that might have suggested why the man might have come up with the idea of having an alternative currency.
"He was very wary of the government, taxes and people in charge. He would keep his office locked and we would get into trouble if we touched his computer. He was always expounding on politics and current events. He loved new and old technology. He built his own computers and was very proud of them" Mitchell said.
Newsweek also got a hint from Arthur Nakamoto, Satoshi's youngest sibling.
"He's very focused and eclectic in his way of thinking. Smart, intelligent, mathematics, engineering, computers. You name it, he can do it. 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," said Arthur.
Then there is Bitcoin top scientist, Gavin Andresen who claims to have work with the Satoshi Nakamoto. However, it appears the collaboration also happened over the Internet and no face-to-face interaction occurred, not even a phone call happened. Andresen worked to fix the code of Bitcoin. He also shared the vulnerability of the cryptocurrency from hacking, theft, and anything a conventional bank will be afraid of. He recalls that Nakamoto was short-tempered and never chatty.
The interest to find the Bitcoin founder might have stemmed from all the woes of the virtual currency of late. Aside from its fluctuating values, rejection of various governments, the bankruptcy of Mt. Gox, there was a missing link. Who invented Bitcoin?
As Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto escaped in a Prius with an Associated Press reporter, he really did not reveal anything. He denied any involvement with it. He was just there, chased by other reporters and all, for free lunch.
Then early Friday, a certain Satoshi Nakamoto posted a comment under a P2P Foundation post dating back in 2009 that might be among the earliest post defining Bitcoin.
"I am not Dorian Nakamoto," the comment read.
Why will a man who holds hundreds of millions worth of the virtual currency not use it to help himself and his family? Why will he? If that will attract so much attention and get him in trouble from government or other entities? Why does he need to surface? Where is the real Satoshi Nakamoto?
More questions than answers. Just like how it is like with the Bitcoin at the moment.
