Revisiting Newsweek’s 2014 ‘scoop’ about the creator of Bitcoin

A little more than two years ago, Newsweek created a media frenzy when it claimed to have revealed the true identity of the creator of Bitcoin [original post has been removed by Newsweek].

Of course, today Australian Craig Wright claimed that he is the real creator. But in March 2014, the Newsweek story turned the life of someone else who we now know had nothing at all to do with Bitcoin upside down.

The virtual currency had captured the public’s fascination at the time, but the identity of its creator remained cloaked in mystery. Reporter Leah McGrath Goodman, however, claimed to have unmasked him.

In a cover story called, “The Face Behind Bitcoin,” Goodman said her detective work pointed her to a Japanese-American named Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, 64.

Goodman recounts an interview with Nakamoto, in which he supposedly “tacitly acknowledged” his involvement. Then she quoted him as saying: “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.”

At the time, I was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and we became part of said media frenzy. There was a media gaggle at his house and even an odd car chase of sorts, all while he continued to deny his involvement.

“Seeing him flee a scene and now deny it, I have to say it’s mystifying to me,” said Goodman in an interview on “CBS This Morning,” at the time. “His family — and that’s part of why I’d written it into the story — had told me that they predicted that he’d be either cagey or deny it. But with me he definitely acknowledged bitcoin.”

The Bitcoin community began to pick apart Goodman’s trail of clues. But she and the magazine stuck by the story.

Nakamoto responded by retaining a lawyer and starting a legal defense fund to help him sue Newsweek. It’s unclear if he ever followed through and filed anything. We’ve sent a message to his attorney at that time and will update if we receive a response.

As of yet, it also doesn’t appear that Newsweek editor Jim Impoco or Goodman have issued statements regarding today’s news. We’ll also update here if they do.