Mystery continues as man denies he is Bitcoin founder
The man Newsweek outed as the founder of controversial cryptocurrency Bitcoin has denied he has anything to do with it.
ITV News Washington correspondent Robert Moore reports:
In an exclusive two-hour interview with the Associated Press, Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto, 64, said he had never heard of Bitcoin until his son told him he had been contacted by a Newsweek reporter three weeks ago.
He acknowledged that many of the details in Newsweek's report are correct, including that he once worked for a defence contractor, and that his given name at birth was Satoshi.
But he strongly disputed the US magazine's assertion that he is "the face behind Bitcoin".
"I got nothing to do with it," he said, repeatedly
Newsweek has said it is standing by its story, which has helped kick-start the relaunch of its print edition 15 months after being available only online.
Since Bitcoin's birth in 2009, the currency's creator has remained a mystery.
The person - or people - behind its founding have been known only as "Satoshi Nakamoto," which many observers believed to be a pseudonym.
After the story was posted on Newsweek's website, Mr Nakamoto said his home was bombarded by phone calls.
Dozens of reporters were waiting outside the modest two-story home on the residential street in Temple City, California, where he lives.
He emerged shortly after noon yesterday saying he wanted to speak with one reporter only and asked for a "free lunch".
During a car ride and then later over sushi lunch at the AP bureau in central Los Angeles, Mr Nakamoto spoke at length about his life, career and family, addressing many of the assertions in Newsweek's 4,500-word piece.
He also said a key portion of the piece - where he is quoted telling the reporter on his doorstep before two police officers, "I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it" - was misunderstood.
Mr Nakamoto said he is a native of Beppu, Japan who came to the US when he was 10. He speaks both English and Japanese, but his English is not flawless. Asked if he said the quote, Mr Nakamoto responded: "No."
He said of the exchange: "I'm saying I'm no longer in engineering. That's it. And even if I was, when we get hired, you have to sign this document, contract saying you will not reveal anything we divulge during and after employment. So that's what I implied.
"It sounded like I was involved before with Bitcoin and looked like I'm not involved now. That's not what I meant. I want to clarify that."
Newsweek writer Leah McGrath Goodman, who spent two months researching the story, told the AP: "I stand completely by my exchange with Mr. Nakamoto. There was no confusion whatsoever about the context of our conversation -- and his acknowledgment of his involvement in Bitcoin."
Bitcoin later tweeted a picture in the style of Barack Obama's famous 'hope' image, mocking the "discovery" of its founder:
In December, the value of a single bitcoin hit an all-time high of $1,200 (£717). It was around $665 (£397) yesterday, according to the website bitcoincharts.com.