Dorian Nakamoto denies Newsweek's story: "I have nothing to do with Bitcoin"

Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, the 64-year-old man recently announced as the creator of Bitcoin by the magazine Newsweek, says the article written by the journalist Leah McGrath Goodman is a complete lie. In an interview with AP, the man said “I am here to clear my name. I have nothing to do with Bitcoin, I was just an engineer”.

The story about Nakamoto’s “true identity” was published this week in Newsweek’s new physical edition. The 4500-word article even made the cover of the magazine and was already being considered one of the biggest scoops of the 21st century. However, it looks like Dorian Nakamoto, born Satoshi, is not Bitcoin’s father.

According to the interviewee, Goodman misunderstood some of his statements. Especially when he said “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”. While she was asking about Bitcoin, he was apparently talking about his confidential work as an engineer.

Nakamoto denies he was talking about cryptocurrency in this case. The man, a native of Beppu (Japan), came to the United States in 1959, but claims his English is not flawless, which could explain Goodman’s insistence in the quote’s veracity.

The Bitcoin community welcomed Newsweek’s story with skepticism since the beginning. In the meantime, Dorian Nakamoto has denied his involvement in the creation of the world’s most famous cryptocurrency. During the interview with AP, he repeatedly shows how shocked he is while reading the article.

However, more amazing than all this is the fact that the real Satoshi Nakamoto has apparently resurfaced to address the matter. As stated by the P2PFoundation, the real genius published a statement on the platform’s forum claiming he is not the 64-year-old man that lives in California.

“I am not Dorian Nakamoto”, Satoshi wrote. If true, this is the first message published by Bitcoin’s creator in several years.

Meanwhile, Andreas Antonopoulos has announced on Reddit that he is organizing a fundraising to help Dorian and his family with medical bills and legal fees and to “say ‘sorry’ for this mess”. Still, the community seems much more inclined to contribute if their money can generate a lawsuit filed by the Californian Nakamoto against Newsweek.

Below are some of the initial words Andreas wrote on Reddit:

I’m fundraising for Dorian Nakamoto, the person named in the Newsweek article.

I have no idea if this person is Satoshi, though it seems increasingly unlikely. However, it doesn’t matter either way. If this person is Satoshi, then the funds are a small “thanks” and won’t make much of a difference.

However, if this person is not Satoshi, then these funds will serve as a “sorry for what happened to you”, help with medical bills his family is facing, any legal bills they may incur, or anything else. Most of all, it serves to soften the damage caused by irresponsible journalism and to demonstrate the generosity and empathy of the community, which I know is huge.

The donation address is 1Dorian4RoXcnBv9hnQ4Y2C1an6NJ4UrjX and the funds can be sent until the end of March. “At the end of March, donations will be converted to USD and delivered to Dorian Nakamoto. If the donation is rejected by Dorian, then the funds will go to a charity of his choice. If he doesn’t want to choose a charity, funds will be donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Any funds sent after the deadline, will be donated to Dorian at a later date, or a charity of his choice or EFF as above”, Andreas added.