Did Newsweek Find The Bitcoin Founder?

On Friday, Newsweek relaunched its once-bankrupt print edition under new owner IBT Media — and its dramatic cover story claims to have identified the real founder of Bitcoin, the digital currency swiftly rising to global prominence. According to Newsweek, the founder is Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, a 64-year-old man living in Temple City, California.

However, there's been a huge, unexpected twist: after Nakamoto was outed and chased around Los Angeles by relentless reporters, he chose to ride in a car with one reporter from The Associated Press and inform her that, no, he was not the founder of Bitcoin. According to the AP, Nakamoto allegedly hadn't even heard of Bitcoin until three weeks ago — when his son told him a Newsweek reporter had contacted him.

These allegations have only further spurred the media frenzy — in fact, Los Angeles Times is providing live updates to what's been called the "Bitcoin chase."

The Newsweek writer, Leah McGrath Goodman, says she stands by her story. Newsweek has also released a statement about the article.

Ms. Goodman’s research was conducted under the same high editorial and ethical standards that have guided Newsweek for more than 80 years. Newsweek stands strongly behind Ms. Goodman and her article. Ms. Goodman’s reporting was motivated by a search for the truth surrounding a major business story, absent any other agenda. The facts as reported point toward Mr. Nakamoto’s role in the founding of Bitcoin.

Nakamoto has agreed that some of the cover story's facts are correct, but maintains he didn't invent the Web-based currency.

But that's not the end of the story. In a brief comment post on the P2P Foundation's Ning Page — Bitcoin is a P2P, or peer-to-peer, currency — a person by the name of "Satoshi Nakamoto" wrote "I am not Dorian Nakamoto." Through emails with P2P Foundation Ning's founder, TechCrunch discovered that the email associated with this recent comment is also associated with a 2009 post that introduced Bitcoin, and released the paper on it on the P2P Foundation website.

In other words, "Satoshi Nakamoto" may be the founder of Bitcoin, not the guy Newsweek has pointed the finger at.

Where on earth is this story going? Stay tuned...