Bitcoin does not have an official mascot.
Still, for at least a few years, Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto was the closest thing Bitcoin had to a spirit animal — an unassuming everyman who became symbolic of Bitcoin’s power to change the world from humble beginnings.
Newsweek launched it on the 6th of March 2014. “The Face Behind Bitcoin,” Journalist Leah McGrath Goodman reveals the results of a month-long search for potential candidates. The article was based on a misunderstood misunderstanding.
In earlier attempts, the Nakamoto was considered a pseudonym. Goodman looked for Satoshis in plain site.
Goodman discovered a variety of Satoshi Nakamotos, both dead and living: “A Ralph Lauren menswear designer in New York and another who died in Honolulu in 2008, according to the Social Security Index’s Death Master File,” Goodman writes.
It’s amazing that tweets such as these still exist online.
Goodman found Satoshi’s in a US citizen database. Dorian’s resume matched someone with the potential to create Bitcoin. “obsessively private” Scientist and engineer with an intense interest in political issues and deep mistrust of government and banks.
Dorian had changed his name legally at 23 years old. Dorian is a Japan-born descendant of Samurai and priests. He had signed his name “Dorian S. Nakamoto” Ever since.
When Goodman approached Dorian outside his home in southern California — after emails between the two had gone dark — he soon called the police. By chance, Hal Finney lived a few streets away in Temple City.
Perfect storm
Dorian worked on many classified projects, both for the US Military and major corporations. According to Newsweek, Dorian thought he’d get in trouble by speaking with Goodman.
Dorian replied to Goodman’s question on Bitcoin before he was sent away: “I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it. It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.”
Satoshi sent an email almost three years ago to Mike Hearn.
Confusingly, all that tracks with what the real Satoshi might say — resulting in Newsweek running the piece as a cover story erroneously outing Dorian as Bitcoin’s inventor. Dorian claimed that Goodman had asked about Dorian’s previous work for Citibank.
It was a story that sparked media frenzy. Silk Road was shut down in months previous by the FBI, and Bitcoin had just recovered from its all-time record high of $1 242 following a rally of 10,000% within a year.
Dorian endured days of media harassment, which left us with iconic photographs showing reporters following him through his LA neighbourhood.
Dorian arranged a conference at the Associated Press’ offices, where he was treated to a complimentary sushi lunch. “lots of expensive varieties,” He explained his confusion in the letter and formally denied having anything to do Bitcoin.
Dorian, in a statement written, expressed his difficulty finding dependable work as an programmer or engineer, and said that Newsweek’s piece had harmed her prospects of gainingful employment.
Even his Internet service was recently terminated. “due to severe financial distress,” At that time, I was still recovering from a prostate operation and an stroke.
We make friends
Bitcoins rallied quickly around Dorian after he initially vowed to sue this outlet.
The same week, Andreas Antonopoulos posted a BTC fund-raiser on Reddit. “sorry for what happened to you.” In an updated, Antonopoulus said that he had successfully made contact and will deliver the funds personally.
More than 49 BTC flowed into the donation wallet — a vanity address that started with “1Dorian” — over the next two months, worth around $30,000 at the time. In June 2014, almost one-third of the funds were sent to an intermediary address.
1Dorian received another 17.5 BTC in December 2015. The remainder of the bitcoins were transferred in a similar way to Coinbase around mid-2017.
Dorian raised an additional 17.3 BTC (5,500 dollars) through another auction that featured a piece of art using Dorian’s likeness. It was made up entirely from credit cards that had been repurposed.
The BTC donation, when combined with the Antonopoulos fundraising, would amount to about $7.4 million in today’s dollars. However, it is unclear for how long Dorian will hold.
Antonopoulos said initially that bitcoins were to be bought for US dollars and then given to Dorian. Dorian later said, in a Reddit AMA at the end of 2015, that he would give Dorian his Bitcoins. “didn’t sell” And that he intended to use the fund “as required.”
Dorian, in an ironic twist, became the face de facto of Satoshi within the five-year period, which spawned memes and tee shirts.
Maybe it was because Dorian embraced the Bitcoin community, after all the trouble the media created, attending various conferences.
Or, maybe it was his insightful comments about the state of modern society and the economy he’d made on Reddit — as well as thoughtful reflections on the state of Bitcoin development — some which were so poignant that they might have well come from the creator of Bitcoin himself.
Many people say that we all are Satoshi. Dorian demonstrated that the statement was true but only to a certain extent.
Satoshi of the People
Some people say that a photo is worth a thousand words. Satoshi Nakamoto’s case may be different.
Since the mysterious founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto left in 2011, both his fans and observers have had no clue about what he looked like. The artists were left with the task of filling in any gaps.
Google images reveal that Satoshi has not always been the same. They’ve changed a lot over the years with Satoshi’s story.
Satoshi wasn’t a very mysterious figure even in 2013. It was only a matter of a few short years since he had been away, but he is often pictured in the media as an Asian young man. As Wikileaks Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and others began to associate with the movement the Guy Fawkes Mask became a suitable substitute that spoke of the (alleged) benefits of the technology.
In 2014, Dorian, a middle-aged, flustered computer scientist, who covered his face while shooing reporters, was the most popular. This too came and went.
There was an attempt to turn Satoshi into a more common man in the following years. There are Satoshi statues in Budapest, Hungary, and Lugano Switzerland. Many aren’t fans because they believe it allows for the “shadowy coder” trope.
Yet, today, it’s perhaps Dorian’s picture that is most enduring — the revival due in no small part to Bitcoin’s sprawling meme-o-sphere, where Dorian’s lasting scowl has been embraced, recast as a kind of talisman for the disdain Bitcoin users still feel for the media and non-believers.
Dorian can still be found on the web every day, whether he is refusing price increases or acting as an online brand of social media accounts.
Dorian could be the perfect Satoshi. His version of Satoshi is one which has been recovered, and advocates have re-cast an image once abused as a tool into something that will remind them forever that they are outsiders. It wouldn’t be any other way.
Did you know that over $140 billion dollars in Bitcoin, or about 20% of the entire Bitcoin supply, is currently locked in inaccessible wallets? Or maybe you have lost access to your Bitcoin wallet? Don’t let those funds remain out of reach! AI Seed Phrase Finder is here to help you regain access effortlessly. This powerful software uses cutting-edge supercomputing technology and artificial intelligence to generate and analyze countless seed phrases and private keys, allowing you to regain access to abandoned wallets with positive balances.
