DORIAN Nakamoto was accused of being the inventor of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in 2014 – a claim he has continued to deny.
But what is the story behind Nakamoto and what is his net worth?
Who is Dorian Nakamoto?
Dorian Nakamoto was born as Satoshi Nakamoto in 1949 in Beppu, Japan.
He is the eldest of three brothers who all work in engineering and technical fields.
Nakamoto graduated from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona with a degree in physics but his career is very hard to trace.
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After graduating, Nakamoto went to work on defense and electronics communications for Hughes Aircraft in southern California.
He then worked for Radio Corporation of America as a systems engineer before working as a computer engineer for financial information service Quotron Systems Inc.
He then worked as a software engineer for the Federal Aviation Administration in New Jersey after the September 11 attacks.
Did Dorian Nakamoto create Bitcoin?
Newsweek columnist Leah McGrath Goodman published a story called ‘The Face Behind Bitcoin’ in March 2014, claiming Dorian Nakamoto was the founder of Bitcoin.
As well as being a retired physicist and well-educated engineer Nakamoto’s birth name is also ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ making Goodman and others believe he was behind the invention of cryptocurrency.
At the age of 23, he changed his name to ‘Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto’ according to records filed with the U.S. District Court of Los Angeles.
Nakamoto worked for the U.S. military for a period and some of the projects he worked on were deemed classified information.
The shroud of secrecy also gave Goodman a hunch that Nakamoto was involved in Bitcoin’s creation.
Goodman spent two months on the story. When Goodman arrived at Nakamoto’s home in Los Angeles’s San Gabriel foothills, he said he was “no longer involved in that” and he “cannot discuss it.”
He added: “It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.”
Goodman said Nakamoto “tacitly acknowledged his role in the Bitcoin project” but refused to answer her questions directly.
Arthur Nakamoto, Satoshi Nakamoto’s youngest sibling, told Newsweek in 2014: “He’s a brilliant man. Smart, intelligent, mathematics, engineering, computers. You name it, he can do it.”
But added: “My brother is an asshole. What you don’t know about him is that he’s worked on classified stuff.
“His life was a complete blank for a while.
“You’re not going to be able to get to him. He’ll deny everything.
“He’ll never admit to starting Bitcoin.”
After the story was published, the Bitcoin community debated the subject.
But an online account controlled by Satoshi Nakomoto wrote in a forum: “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.”
Dorian Nakamoto came out and told the public he felt victimized and he misunderstood Goodman’s questions, claiming he thought the reporter was talking about a classified project he worked on with the investment bank Citibank.
The cryptocurrency community were outraged by Newsweek for invading Nakamoto’s privacy and started to raise Bitcoin for him.
Shortly after the article was published Nakamoto spoke with a reporter from the Associated Press (AP) and denied being involved with the creation of Bitcoin.
He said: “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.”
Nakamoto also told his side of the story to Speaking of Bitcoin podcast host Andreas Antonopoulos.
What is Dorian Nakamoto’s net worth?
Dorian Nakamoto was struggling financially before the Newsweek article was published.
Nakamoto said in 2014: “I have not been able to find steady work as an engineer or programmer for ten years. I have worked as a laborer, polltaker, and substitute teacher.
“I discontinued my internet service in 2013 due to severe financial distress.”
However, after the article was published he received a total of 102 Bitcoins in donation from the cryptocurrency community.
At today’s value, if Nakamoto still owns those 102 Bitcoins he is worth over $2 million.
At the time of the donation in 2014, Bitcoin was priced around $400 meaning he initially received around $40,000 from the cryptocurrency community.
