Has the Real Satoshi Posted for the First Time in 5 Years?

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Last night, the Bitcoin world was abuzz with chatter that the real creator of Bitcoin had emerged for the first time in five years to discredit Newsweek’s “unmasking” story. I was skeptical of the Newsweek story right off the bat, which read like a page-view baiting tabloid, rather than serious investigative journalism. Despite the fact … Read more

Satoshi Nakamoto Chased by Reporters, Denies Founding Bitcoin

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The LA Times is reporting that Satoshi Nakamoto has been driving around today with an AP reporter and he denies founding Bitcoin. This is interesting because the only “proof” Newsweek had was his comments that he did create it. So somebody’s lying. I was skeptical of the Newsweek story from the start and wrote about … Read more

Obama Signs Executive Order Blocking Certain Russian Assets Due to Ukraine Crisis

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Ok, so this seems like a very big deal and may represent a serious escalation in the soft conflict happening between the U.S. and Russia. As of today, the U.S. seems to be using financial warfare in its response. Not only does this Executive Order issued today appear to block certain Russian assets, it also imposes travel restrictions. The question on my mind now is, does Russia hold some of its treasuries in the custody of the Federal Reserve? If so, are these now frozen?

Here’s the text of the Executive Order (emphasis mine):

Executive Order — Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine

EXECUTIVE ORDER

– – – – – – –

BLOCKING PROPERTY OF CERTAIN PERSONS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SITUATION IN UKRAINE

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, find that the actions and policies of persons — including persons who have asserted governmental authority in the Crimean region without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine — that undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and contribute to the misappropriation of its assets, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. I hereby order:

Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State: 

(i) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, any of the following:

(A) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine;

(B) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine; or

(C) misappropriation of state assets of Ukraine or of an economically significant entity in Ukraine;

(ii) to have asserted governmental authority over any part or region of Ukraine without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine;

(iii) to be a leader of an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in any activity described in subsection (a)(i) or (a)(ii) of this section or of an entity whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;

(iv) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any activity described in subsection (a)(i) or (a)(ii) of this section or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or

(v) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the effective date of this order.

Sec. 2. I hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens determined to meet one or more of the criteria in subsection 1(a) of this order would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of such persons. Such persons shall be treated as persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).

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Newsweek Claims to Have Identified the Creator of Bitcoin – Satoshi Nakamoto

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I have very mixed feelings about the accuracy of today’s article from Newsweek regarding its claim to have discovered the identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. On the one hand, you’d think a major magazine would not make such a bold claim without extensive research and a high degree of certainty. Then again, this is Newsweek.

At the end of the day, since no one can really prove the story right or wrong, it’s certainly possible the magazine merely agreed that it sounded plausible enough and decided it was worth the risk given the page views it would generate.

I tend to have decent intuition on these things, and as I was reading it, something appeared to be off. Perhaps it was the writer’s style, or perhaps just the strangeness of this guy’s personality, but it read a bizarrely to me. The way the guy calls the cops when she shows up to his door. Why would the person who created Bitcoin respond in that way? Also, while on the surface it might seem clever to use your real name in an attempt to remain anonymous, it isn’t really. Everyone trying to figure out who you are will start with searches of Satoshi Nakamoto no matter how stupid it seems.

The one thing that is causing many to speculate that this story is accurate, is the following tweet from Bitcoin core developer Gavin Andresen:

This definitely reads as if Gavin is confirming the article, but it is still unclear to me whether Gavin himself knew Satoshi’s identity, or if he was just communicating with a digital person while working on Bitcoin.

*Update: It seems Gavin has posted a letter to Leah (the Newsweek journalist) on Reddit. He writes:

Hey Leah:

I meant exactly what I tweeted: I am disappointed you (or your publishers) chose to publish enough personal information that people can easily find Dorian and his family.

The pieces might all be public information, but you worked really hard to piece them all together, and the crazy people who might decide it is a good idea to go visit “Satoshi” are likely not as smart or hard-working as you.

And all of your evidence is circumstantial, EXCEPT for the “I’m not involved in that any more” quote, which might simply be an old man saying ANYTHING to get you to go away and leave him alone.

Anyway, I hope some good comes of all this; I hope it stimulates more debate on personal privacy and the role of journalists in our “pan-opticon” world.

So he is clearly not confirming that this man is the creator of Bitcoin. Now back to the original post…

From my perspective, something seems off in this article.

Nevertheless, here are some excerpts, come to your own conclusion:

Two police officers from the Temple City, Calif., sheriff’s department flank him, looking puzzled. “So, what is it you want to ask this man about?” one of them asks me. “He thinks if he talks to you he’s going to get into trouble.”

“I don’t think he’s in any trouble,” I say. “I would like to ask him about Bitcoin. This man is Satoshi Nakamoto.”

“What?” The police officer balks. “This is the guy who created Bitcoin? It looks like he’s living a pretty humble life.”

Tacitly acknowledging his role in the Bitcoin project, he looks down, staring at the pavement and categorically refuses to answer questions.

I’d come here to try to find out more about Nakamoto and his humble life. It seemed ludicrous that the man credited with inventing Bitcoin – the world’s most wildly successful digital currency, with transactions of nearly $500 million a day at its peak – would retreat to Los Angeles’s San Bernardino foothills, hole up in the family home and leave his estimated $400 million of Bitcoin riches untouched. It seemed similarly implausible that Nakamoto’s first response to my knocking at his door would be to call the cops. Now face to face, with two police officers as witnesses, Nakamoto’s responses to my questions about Bitcoin were careful but revealing.

Not only does it seem implausible, it seems absurd to me. You are just asking for attention and to be outed by doing that.

Far from leading to a Tokyo-based whiz kid using the name “Satoshi Nakamoto” as a cipher or pseudonym (a story repeated by everyone from Bitcoin’s rabid fans to The New Yorker), the trail followed by Newsweek led to a 64-year-old Japanese-American man whose name really is Satoshi Nakamoto. He is someone with a penchant for collecting model trains and a career shrouded in secrecy, having done classified work for major corporations and the U.S. military.

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My Latest Interview with “Wall Street for Main Street” – Technology, Bitcoin and the U.S. Economy

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Yesterday, I had the pleasure to record another podcast with Jason Burack of Wall Street for Main Street. This is the first interview I’ve done in a little while, and it went quite a bit longer than either of us expected. I always enjoy doing these podcasts, as it allows me to express myself in … Read more

Video of the Day: Shit Bitcoin Fanatics Say

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Back in 2012, I introduced you to a hilarious video created by my friend Dan Ameduri titled: Shit Gold Bugs Say. If you haven’t seen it, I definitely suggest checking it out. I even make a brief cameo appearance at the 0:57 mark. Today I bring you a new video. Similar concept, different item and … Read more

Meet “Goldfinger” – The $850k Motorcycle with “Many Buyers Interested”

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Welcome back to pre-financial crisis insanity levels. I recall one of the wildest stories from back in early 2008 near the height of the oil price bubble was about how the wealthy in the UAE were spending tens of millions of dollars buying and selling license plates. Yes, just regular aluminum license plates. The most … Read more

Apple Directors Overrule and Reject Shareholder Proposal to Protect User Privacy

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Things at Apple seem to be going from bad to worse. From the company’s recent “War on Bitcoin,” to the major security flaw impacting virtually all its hardware from iPhones to Macs, Apple hasn’t done a single decent thing since Steve Jobs died.

Worst of all seems to be the company’s cozy relationship with the NSA and a complete disregard for user privacy and security. In order to push back against such behavior, a group of Apple shareholders, led by Restore the Fourth SF national liaison David Levitt, put forth a SpyLockout resolution. Key to this resolution is the following commitment:

The Spy Lockout plan is simple common sense for any company truly committed to data security.  Adopt best practices for security and encryption, as recommended by experts like the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Keep third party equipment off our networks.  Investigate and stop invasions of user privacy.  And when cooperating with police, require a warrant of limited duration, for a specific person or thing, instead of bulk collection.

So what could be wrong with that? Well, apparently Apple directors found it so unacceptable that they decided to use their power to overrule the resolution.

Firedoglake did some excellent reporting on this story. They note that:

Cupertino — At Friday’s Apple shareholder meeting, Apple’s directors overruled an urgent, popular shareholder resolution entitled Spy Lockout, aimed at improving security and keeping NSA surveillance and other intruders out of Apple’s products and systems. The same morning, Apple co-Founder Steve Wozniak endorsed the SkyLockout initiative.

Apple had quietly advised shareholders in its January 10, 2014 Proxy Statement that directors Bruce Sewell and Peter Oppenheimer would exercise their discretionary voting authority — their ability to cast votes for on behalf of shareholders who toss their voting forms in the trash — to defeat the proposal, without citing any reason.

The proxy statement does not refer to the proposal as “Spy Lockout” but as a “Floor Proposal” that “if approved, would, among other things, ask the Board ‘to enact a policy to use technical methods and other best practices to protect user data.’”

Apple gave no indication why it would vote against a resolution to follow best practices recommended by industry technical experts and the Electronic Frontier Foundation to protect users.

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NSA Chief is Pushing for Legislation to Stifle the First Amendment

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Recently, what came out with the justices in the United Kingdom … they looked at what happened on Miranda and other things, and they said it’s interesting: journalists have no standing when it comes to national security issues. They don’t know how to weigh the fact of what they’re giving out and saying, is it in the nation’s interest to divulge this.

– General Keith Alexander, Director of the NSA

Although General Alexander states the above with regard to the UK justice system, he clearly agrees with the assessment. Read the passage above again and think about how scary that statement is. It becomes clear that one of the reasons abuses at the NSA are so egregious is because of the attitude of the person in charge. Alexander genuinely thinks that intelligence officials know best, and should not be subject to any sort of accountability. You don’t need to be a card-carrying member of the ACLU to see how dangerous this perspective is. To endorse this notion that “journalists have no standing when it comes to national security issues,” is to effectively make illegal one of the most important free speech rights in any democracy. This sort of attitude represents the antithesis of American values.

Not only does General Alexander see things this way, apparently he is lobbying for Congressional legislation that would solidify this authoritarian view within the law itself. For example, the Guardian reported yesterday that:

General Keith Alexander, who has furiously denounced the Snowden revelations, said at a Tuesday cybersecurity panel that unspecified “headway” on what he termed “media leaks” was forthcoming in the next several weeks, possibly to include “media leaks legislation.”

The general, who is due to retire in the next several weeks, said that the furore over Snowden’s surveillance revelations – which he referred to only as “media leaks” – was complicating his ability to get congressional support for a bill that would permit the NSA and the military Cyber Command he also helms to secretly communicate with private entities like banks about online data intrusions and attacks. 

So apparently he has several pieces of authoritarian legislation on his plate at the moment. He laments Snowden is making the implementation of his fascist tendencies more difficult. Just another reason to celebrate Snowden.

“We’ve got to handle media leaks first,” Alexander said.

“I think we are going to make headway over the next few weeks on media leaks. I am an optimist. I think if we make the right steps on the media leaks legislation, then cyber legislation will be a lot easier,” Alexander said.

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Overstock.com Passes $1 Million in Bitcoin Sales in Less than Two Months

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The decision by Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, to accept Bitcoin in exchange for its products has turned out to be a very savvy business decision for the online retailer. While the pace of Bitcoin sales has dropped off significantly from the tremendous $130k recorded in the first 24 hours, the sales have continued to come in. Only two months into the experiment, the retailer has now surpassed $1 million in BTC sales. More importantly, Mr. Byrne estimate 60% of these sales came from entirely new customers.

From TechDirt:

“We did not expect to hit this milestone so quickly,” states Overstock.com Chairman and CEO Patrick M. Byrne. “Bitcoin customers are good customers, and we’re pleased to provide them this service.”

Overstock.com started accepting Bitcoin in early January by partnering with Coinbase to process the payments and handle the conversion of Bitcoin into U.S. dollars. Since then, Overstock.com reports 4,300 customers paid for over $1 million worth of goods with Bitcoin. The retailer estimates almost 60% of those are new customers to Overstock.com.

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