PCWorld, among other media reports, are pointing to a Newsweek feature about the identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto," the eponymous creator of Bitcoin. Newsweek pictured him as an ordinary regular Joe, but had told the magazine that he is no longer connected with the popular virtual currency.
The magazine's feature of the creator of Bitcoin followed the crash of the former top virtual money exchange, Mt Gox. Mt Gox has since filed for bankruptcy protection, and had its usually casual-looking chief executive officer Mark Karpeles addressing the world in a spiffy suit and tie, promising on behalf of the now shuttered company to repay its investors and creditors as the world discovered the exchange's insolvency.
The hunt for the Bitcoin creator has increased its importance as authorities and investors seek to grasp the software's viability as a financial product of value, with discussions about its regulation being debated on and rejected by some of the world's financial and central authority figures.
Bitcoin Foundation chief scientist Gavin Andresen reportedly told Newsweek that Nakamoto only communicated via email, and later allegedly stopped making changes to the Bitcoin software and have not been heard since early 2011.
When Leah McGrath Goodman for Newsweek met Nakamoto in person, the creator had contacted Temple City cops to arrive at his home, insinuating that the latter was very insistent about his privacy. When asked for confirmation about his pivotal role in Bitcoin, he told Goodman while swatting his hand to end the rather short interview, "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."
When Goodman contacted Nakamoto's brother to set up another, hopefully successful interview, Arthur Nakamoto told the journalist, "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."
Ilene Mitchell, Nakamoto's daughter, said that her father is quite afraid about the government. Recalling a curious drill her father conducted when she was small, she told Newsweek, "He is very wary of government interference in general. When I was little, there was a game we used to play. He would say, 'Pretend the government agencies are coming after you.' And I would hide in the closet."
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