Dorian Nakamoto ‘unconditionally’ denies he created bitcoin, says he has no knowledge of cryptography
Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, the man identified as the creator of bitcoin by Newsweek, has issued a statement denying any involvement in the creation of the virtual currency and payment system.“I did not create, invent or otherwise work on Bitcoin. I unconditionally deny the Newsweek report,” Nakamoto wrote in a statement provided to Felix Salmon of Reuters through Nakamoto’s lawyer Ethan Kirschner.
Here’s the statement, via Reuter’s Salmon.
In a March 6 Newsweek article, Leah McGrath Goodman identified Nakamoto as the creator of bitcoin. She briefly spoke to Nakamoto outside his house and quoted him as saying this:
The article identified his town and included a photo of his house, which led to a media stakeout and a car chase. Nakamoto later denied involvement in bitcoin to the AP, in which he repeatedly referred to bitcoin as “bitcom.”“I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it,” he says, dismissing all further queries with a swat of his left hand. “It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.”
Nakamoto’s statement said he doesn’t know anything about and has never worked on cryptography. That’s important because the virtual currency bitcoin is created through a cryptographic process, instead of by a central bank, and was laid out by its creator in a paper circulated on a cryptography mailing list in late 2008. The paper’s author was listed as Satoshi Nakamoto.
An email sent to the office of Ethan Kirschner wasn’t immediately returned. The office of Kirschner Law doesn’t accept bitcoin.
–Saumya Vaishampayan
