Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech
  3. Products

Bitcoin enthusiasts are boiling after Newsweek unmasks its secretive inventor

Andrew Couts
By
bitcoin creator satoshi nakamoto revealed 3670 3 7 fe0108 04
Photo of Satoshi Nakamoto, published by Newsweek uncensored

Bitcoin’s greatest mystery – the identity of the intensely popular cryptocurrency’s creator, long known only as “Satoshi Nakamoto” – has apparently been uncovered in a massive cover story scoop by Newsweek reporter Leah McGrath Goodman. “Satoshi Nakamoto” was, until now, widely believed to be a pseudonym – an enigmatic cover for the real Bitcoin creator, rumored to be anyone from a late 30-something man living in Japan to operatives from the U.S. government.

The creator of Bitcoin’s real name? Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto.

Related Videos

That’s right, Satoshi Nakamoto was reportedly not a pseudonym after all. According to McGrath Goodman, Nakamoto is 64-years-old, lives in a modest home in southern California, drives a Toyota Corolla, has a model train hobby, did secretive work for corporations and the U.S. military, and is worth an estimated $400 million in Bitcoin.

Related

The report, if accurate, reveals a fascinating man – a brilliant mathematician, a father of six equally brilliant children, a descendant of samurai. You would think that those in the Bitcoin community, many of whom have meticulously pored over the details known about Nakamoto – who published this paper (PDF) detailing the Bitcoin protocol in 2008 and was active on the Bitcointalk.org forum until 2011, before he disappeared and passed the reigns of Bitcoin development to Gavin Andresen, lead developer of the Bitcoin Project – in an attempt to uncover the identity behind the name. But they’re not.

Bitcoin users are pissed.

While the story only went live Thursday morning, the quickly growing consensus is that McGrath Goodman has violated everything from common decency to journalistic ethics by publishing so much personal information about Nakamoto, who so desperately wanted to remain out of the public eye that he called the police when he found out McGrath Goodman was on her way to his house to ask him about his involvement with Bitcoin.

The main points of contention – besides the fact that Nakamoto simply wanted to be left alone – is that Newsweek decided to publish a photo of Nakamoto’s house, street number and all, which could fairly easily let anyone with access to Google Maps find him, an aged man with a secret fortune. Update: Newsweek has since removed the photo of Nakamoto’s house. But considering the photo was available for hours prior to it being taken down, it is still widely available across the Web.

On Reddit’s Bitcoin community, users quickly lambasted McGrath Goodman for “doxxing” Nakamoto – Internet parlance for publishing someone’s identity and other personal information without their consent.

“Shame that they didn’t bother to respect his privacy at all,” writes one commenter. “This article reveals so much about him that he’s now easy to find.”

“They also mentioned ‘his estimated $400 million of Bitcoin riches’,” writes another. “They’ve basically slapped a target on his back.”

These comments permeate throughout the thread, and on those of other cryptocurrency-related subreddits, and Hacker News, a popular developer-focused link-sharing site that often discusses Bitcoin.

“Being labeled Satoshi regardless of truth is pretty much going to get you robbed, kidnapped or killed,” wrote a commenter. “This dude lives in this town and has $400M of untraceable currency? The article gives his name, face, address and relatives. You can be sure as hell that somebody will do something stupid to try and get to it.”

Users of Bitcointalk.org, which is often considered the central hive of the Bitcoin community, have expressed their disbelief at the report, and further criticized McGrath Goodman and Newsweek for putting a public magnifying glass on Nakamoto’s life. 

“If this is true I think this is very irresponsible,” writes one commenter. “[McGrath Goodman] posts the photo, house photo, legal name, and more information of someone that wants to be anonymous. Not to mention how dangerous this would be if true. I imagine many people would do terrible things to get his private keys.”

The most damning outpouring of criticism comes, of course, from Twitter. Worst of all, perhaps, is the condemnation from Andresen, who is quoted in the article.

Many others have condemned the report as well. For example:

I reached out to McGrath Goodman on Twitter for her response to the criticism, but have not yet heard back. I’ll update this space with any response I receive. Update: McGrath Goodman has begun responding to questions and criticisms from many people on Twitter. See her responses here.

Of course, many are praising McGrath Goodman for the simple brilliance of the scoop, if it is in fact accurate – if Satoshi Nakamoto really is who the report says he is. After all, who would have thought that the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto could be found just by looking in a phone book? (Okay, it took a bit more than that – but you get the point.) As a journalist who covers Bitcoin, I can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy and stupidity for not thinking to do more or less what McGrath Goodman did. But considering the response to this report – which is not 100 percent airtight, I should add – I can’t say I envy her.

What do you think: Did Newsweek cross a line by revealing Nakamoto’s identity, home, and personal details? More importantly, perhaps, is there any value to knowing who Satoshi Nakamoto really is?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
A look into Bitcoin’s troubled year
A Bitcoin over a digital background.

Last year, Bitcoin seemed nearly unstoppable. The world's most popular cryptocurrency rose to just under $20,000 and saw people investing heavily in the cryptocurrency rather that be through buying directly or simply buying the hardware needed to mine it. This, in turn, saw GPUs rise to absurdly high prices though Nvidia largely downplayed Bitcoin's role in the company's fortunes. This year, however, has seen the cryptocurrency's fortune's take a turn for the worst.

Currently, the coin is valued at $6,331, according to CoinDesk, but, on the 28th, it fell as low as $5,800 which is the lowest the coin has been this year. Even this month's highest price point of more than $7,300 is still nearly $10,000 lower than it was near the beginning of this year when the coin was still worth more than $17,000.

Read more
Why a 19-year-old Bitcoin millionaire built a working Dr. Octopus suit
teenage bitcoin millionaire doc oc suit wood

What would you do with $3.3 million in the bank? Actually, let us rephrase that: What would you do with $3.3 million in the bank as a 19-year-old kid? If you’re anything like Erik Finman, the answer is simple: you build a robotic suit. But more on that later.

If Finman’s name sounds faintly familiar it’s because he is known in certain internet circles for being the world’s youngest bitcoin millionaire. He’s that fabled -- both fêted and jealously hated -- of things: the “early adopter” success story. Aged 12, while most of us were still putting away childish things at middle school, Finman was being introduced to cryptocurrency in a somewhat unlikely way: at an anti-capitalist protest.

Read more
Scotland has a rehab clinic for people who are addicted to trading bitcoin
bitcoin

If you find yourself taking the "hold on for dear life," or HODL, stance toward cryptocurrency to the extreme, and can't help yourself when it comes to buying cryptocurrency, you may be addicted. That's the view of experts at the Scotland-based Castle Craig Hospital, which expanded its rehab services to cover cryptocurrency addiction earlier this month.

Experts have long compared the thrill of cryptocurrency to day trading, both of which entail high degrees of risk. You're essentially gambling with your money with crypto and with day trading, and the thrill of massive returns -- and the potential addictive effects -- create an emotional dependence that is not much different from gambling addiction.

Read more