Has the father of Bitcoin finally been found?
THE RECLUSIVE founder of Bitcoin was yesterday revealed as a 64-year-old Japanese-American man living in California, according to Newsweek – but the man himself denied his involvement in the digital currency.
“I’m not involved in Bitcoin,” the man called Satoshi Nakamoto – the name used on the original documents that established the cryptocurrency in 2009 – told a pack of journalists who had gathered outside his modest home in San Bernardino, Los Angeles.
Nakamoto, who changed his name to Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto in 1973, was at the centre of a interview bidding war after the Newsweek revelations.
Nakamoto emerged from his house, chose an AP reporter from the packed crowds and drove him to dinner at a sushi restaurant. But his prius was pursued by a pack of rival journalists creating a bizarre car chase in the LA streets.
Since its creation five years ago the digital currency has endured a rollercoaster ride, rising to highs of $1,200 (£720). But the price has dropped back in recent weeks, after key exchange Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy, and as financial watchdogs round the world seek to regulate the currency.