I tried for a while to understand Bitcoins. Once I did, I had no ability how to explain it to others .. And quite frankly, there are things about Bitcoins and the big business of trading the virtual coin I'll never understand..
But the house of virtual cards appears to be falling down on the man who is called the father of Bitcoins..
Satoshi Nakamoto lost his privacy when NEWSWEEK reported that he lived in California. The NEWSWEEK profile was a cover story. There's a sense of irony to me since Newsweek is now virtual too...but this new NEWSWEEK is also featuring a return to a print edition--the first in 15 months
I digress...
Nakamoto was outed on his location and how much money is is making off of Bitcoins.. Over the past several weeks, though, there has been more negative attention being paid to the Bitcoin a suicide of a CEO.
And now with Nakamoto's newfound fame, he led reporters on a wild freeway car chase to the local headquarters of the Associated Press in Southern California..
This is how REUTERS is reporting the situation:
Newsweek included a photograph and described a short interview, in which Nakamoto said he was no longer associated with Bitcoin and that it had been turned over to other people. The magazine concluded that the man was the same Nakamoto who founded Bitcoin.
Dozens of reporters, including a sprinkling of Japanese media, encircled and camped outside the man's two-story house on Thursday morning, accosting the mailman and repeatedly ringing the doorbell, to no avail. Police cruisers drove by several times but did not stop.
Several times, someone pulled back the drapes on an upstairs window.
In the afternoon, the silver-haired, bespectacled Nakamoto stepped outside, dressed in a gray sport coat and green striped shirt, with a pen tucked in his shirt pocket. He was mobbed by reporters and told them he was looking for someone who understood Japanese to buy him a free lunch.
And now Nakamoto is denying his involvement with Bitcoin, saying Newsweek's reporting that he's the founder is false..
One odd moment occurred when Nakamoto asked for someone who spoke Japanese because he wanted someone to buy him a free lunch. True story.. Reuters reported that odd aspect as well.
In the afternoon, Nakamoto stepped outside and told reporters he had nothing to do with bitcoin but was looking for someone who understood Japanese, to buy him a free lunch.
An AP reporter said yes, and the two made their way to a nearby sushi restaurant with media in tow, before leaving and heading downtown.
Not a bad deal.. AP gets an exclusive and Nakamoto gets some grub.
As the Bitcoin fever fades...