Dec 12, 2017
Bitcoin bonanza fuels memories of Dorian Nakamoto
Bitcoin's rapid rise has captured the world's attention, easily making it one of our most talked about subjects on BNN this month. And while I can't say how many times I've uttered the word bitcoin of late, it has reminded me of 2014 when, for a few days, bitcoin was all anyone could talk about as well.
At the time, I was based in Los Angeles and Newsweek claimed to have found the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto, often cited as the mastermind behind bitcoin, whose identity had always been a mystery. Newsweek had been out of print for more than a year and was hoping to make headlines with its splashy new cover, "The Face Behind Bitcoin.”
And, boy, did that story get everyone talking.
After all, it had been roughly five years since bitcoin’s creation and this was like pulling back the curtain on The Wizard of Oz.
The face of bitcoin, according to Newsweek, was Dorian Nakamoto - a 64-year-old Japanese American, whose birth name is Satoshi Nakamoto. Since he lived in nearby Temple City, California, my job was to head to the L.A.-area community and stake out bitcoin's alleged creator.
On the drive to Temple City, I remember thinking that even with the big reveal, there wasn’t much to work with. The Newsweek profile painted the picture of a quiet, retired engineer. Apparently he was a toy train enthusiast who lived with his 93-year-old mother.
Could this really be the mastermind behind the digital currency taking the world by storm? Could he really be holding an estimated $400 million worth of this revolutionary currency?
Arriving in Temple City, the situation seemed even more bizarre.
Temple City is a lovely community, but it is incredibly sleepy. And Nakamoto's relatively nondescript home on a less than memorable street did not seem like the epicentre of a technological revolution.
Morning knocks on Nakamoto’s door went unanswered. On the porch outside the house, there were business cards from equally curious journalists piling up on the ground, alongside gym membership flyers.
Being a TV journalist with scheduled live reports on television, I missed my window of opportunity to speak with Nakamoto. As the story goes, Nakamoto briefly emerged and told reporters on his doorstep he was not the bitcoin creator and that he would speak with one reporter, asking for a “free lunch.”
Nakamoto then traveled with an Associated Press journalist to AP’s bureau in downtown Los Angeles, where he had sushi and repeatedly stated “I got nothing to do with it,” even describing it as “bitcom.”
I decided to make my way around Temple City to see if there were any nuggets of information one could drum up on Nakamoto.
The toy train shop indeed knew of him, but wasn't equipped to answer anything detailed (especially on the subject of cryptocurrencies). Trips to the community center and local laundromat provided few clues either. Most of my time was spent explaining bitcoin to local residents who had never heard of it.
Nakamoto eventually threatened to sue Newsweek over the ordeal, raising money through a legal fund. Ultimately, the spotlight shifted away from Nakamoto.
Fast forward three and a half years, I think it’s fair to say bitcoin awareness is much greater. But two things haven’t changed. First, Bitcoin’s wild market swings, which require investor nerves of steel (at the time, bitcoin was trading around US$665, down from its then-record high of US$1,200). And, second, we still don’t know who created bitcoin.
It’s that second one that I find so fascinating, given so many investments are based on one’s belief in a specific person. While Amazon’s story is tied to technological change, its investors believe in Jeff Bezos. The same could be said about Elon Musk.
In the case of Bitcoin, when the world thought it knew in 2014 who its creator was, everyone was curious. That’s human nature and it’s proof there is a desire to know who Satoshi Nakamoto actually is. And yet speculators today don’t seemed fazed by that great unknown.
Guess we’ll just have to wait and watch for The Wizard of Oz.
