Newsweek reportedly finds bitcoin founder in California

TEMPLE CITY, Calif., March 6 (UPI) -- Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto has for long been secretive and elusive, but Newsweek reported Thursday that they have tracked down the 64-year-old recluse in Temple City, Calif.

Newsweek, which returns to newsstands this week, tracked down Nakamoto, only to realize that he had no intention of speaking to them and called the police. It was only once the police were there that Nakamoto finally said something to the reporter.

"I am no longer involved in [Bitcoin] and I cannot discuss it," he reportedly told Newsweek. "It's been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection."

After that Nakamoto refused to say anything, and the cops asked the reporter to leave.

According to Newsweek, Nakamoto, who lives in a modest home with his family, is "someone with a penchant for collecting model trains." Nakamoto was wearing "a rumpled T-shirt, old blue jeans and white gym socks, without shoes, like he has left the house in a hurry." The Bitcoin founder is reportedly worth around $400 million in bitcoins.

Nakamoto has become a household name after the meteoric rise of the cryptocurrency and is considered the father of bitcoins. His name first appeared in a white paper introducing the cryptocurrency, but many believed it was just an alias for a Tokyo-based computer genius.

There is no confirmation that the man the Newsweek reporter met was Satoshi Nakamoto or even that if he was, that he is the actual founder of Bitcoin. The report says multiple people were found with that name, including a Ralph Lauren menswear designer in New York and someone on LinkedIn who claims to have started Bitcoin and lives in Japan.

On the flip side, the man in question does fit the description of someone who could be Satoshi Nakamoto. In the report, his family call him a genius, but none of them know if he was the creator of bitcoins. He seems to have the requisite skills to build the cryptocurrency, with a degree in physics from California State Polytechnic University and having worked in security and communications for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Still, the Newsweek article does admit that it is possible that this man is not the man behind bitcoins.

[Newsweek.com]