The Face Behind Bitcoin? • Hacker News Board

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#131

Post by JabavuAdams » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:13 PM UTC

watty wrote: post #52

nwh wrote: post #22

Being labeled Satoshi regardless of truth is pretty much going to get you robbed, kidnapped or killed. This dude lives in this town and has $400M of untraceable currency? The article gives his name, face, address and relatives. You can be sure as hell that somebody will do something stupid to try and get to it. I wouldn't wish this label upon anybody, it's exactly why the community tries to avoid speculating about it…

Why are you so certain he will get robbed, kidnapped, or killed? There are many many people with $400M+ and their information is freely available online and in the media as well.

For the same reason that you don't keep your retirement savings in bearer bonds, and then tell everyone that they're in your apartment.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#132

Post by mseebach » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:14 PM UTC

bane wrote: post #101

Topic other than discussing the irresponsibility of "outing" a guy using the clever tricks of using his name and public records look ups. > A libertarian, Nakamoto encouraged his daughter to be independent, start her own business and "not be under the government's thumb," she says. "He was very wary of the government, taxes and people in charge." > What you don't know about him is that he's worked on classified stuff…

First, "deeply conservative" and "libertarian" aren't freely interchangeable.

Second, it's a quite small branch of libertarianism that doesn't recognise any role for the state (and thus, taxation) at all - and the one they do recognise is mostly concerned with security.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#133

Post by mikeash » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:15 PM UTC

bane wrote: post #101

Topic other than discussing the irresponsibility of "outing" a guy using the clever tricks of using his name and public records look ups. > A libertarian, Nakamoto encouraged his daughter to be independent, start her own business and "not be under the government's thumb," she says. "He was very wary of the government, taxes and people in charge." > What you don't know about him is that he's worked on classified stuff…

My favorite are the guys who rail against socialized medicine while simultaneously praising the care they get from the VA.

I think a lot of these people just subconsciously see "the government" as simply not including the security apparatus.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#134

Post by Jach » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:15 PM UTC

lucb1e wrote: post #110

> "Dorian can just be paranoid," says Tokuo. "I cannot get through to him. I don't think he will answer any of these questions to his family truthfully." What the hell, if many family members are so eager to forward questions from the press to him and spill anything they know, I can totally understand Satoshi doesn't answer them truthfully. I also feel very sorry for Satoshi's position in which he doesn't seem to hav…

The article says he lives with his mother, and since the article said nothing else about her, I suspect she may be the one person he can talk to truthfully...

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#135

Post by pdkl95 » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:15 PM UTC

confluence wrote: post #46

There's one thing that doesn't add up: why would such a privacy conscious man use his real name on a project he thought might be illegal? If he was so serious about his privacy, he would not have used his real name in public.

That's easy - bitcoin isn't and never was about "privacy". It was about defeating that supposedly-horrible "fiat money" and the associated inflation. It's always been more about escaping government-backed money. From the very beginning, when selling the idea of bitcoin, the true believers praised the lack of regulation and how your money wouldn't lose its value over time. Privacy was secondary, if mentioned at all.

I suspect the Silk Road connection is what popularized the idea of a public ledger somehow providing privacy.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#136

Post by pistle » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:16 PM UTC

Doxxing the guy is not nice.

With this out of the way, maybe cryptocurrency can focus attention on leveling up protocols and systems to improve utility. When bitcoin becomes the Friendster of cryptocurrency, Satoshi won't matter, just the disruptive ideas around our proxies for value and the new tools and power that can be used in positive ways to help improve the lot for all humans.

People want the confidence that they are able to securely accrue and employ the value of their efforts and wisdom to improve their standard of living. The values of the mainstream of humanity will determine the fate of this stuff. The current level of technical acumen required to handle and secure most any crypto$ is too high for them right now.

It's time to level up.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#137

Post by bertil » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:16 PM UTC

argumentum wrote: post #82

Quite an odd article for such an important (if true) expose. The only reason I think its possibly true is Gavin's vague tweet. 50% of the article deals with material about bitcoin that is redundant to anyone whose been following it for more than a day (like most here). 45% deals with "Dorian S. Nakamoto"'s family, personal background and that he's a libertarian oddball, with a penchant for math (but no other signific…

And you should. But nothing about BitCoin ever seems confirmed in anyway so… I'd take that the main benefit is dTal's reaction, remembering all the conspiracies: “I feel a bit silly.” That’s the good stuff.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#138

Post by markbao » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:17 PM UTC

Honest question: it seems like Nakamoto wanted to keep his identity secret. If that's true, then why did he reveal so much information (by implying that he was part of Bitcoin) and allow a photo of him to be taken, instead of saying "I have no relation to Bitcoin"? It doesn't add up.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#139

Post by acjohnson55 » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:18 PM UTC

I'll probably be slammed for this, but I actually think it's a pretty good piece. Maybe it could do without the picture of Satoshi's house, but it probably wouldn't be so hard to find the house anyway if you know you're looking for an actual "Satoshi Nakamoto in Temple City".

If the dude hadn't used his real name, we'd probably still be wondering who he is. So I think the indignation is a bit misplaced. It's not at all uncommon or nefarious for news reports to be written about people who don't particularly want the coverage.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#140

Post by mikeash » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 2:18 PM UTC

verroq wrote: post #2

HN can't decry censorship and keep flagging this article because it includes Satoshi's dox.

Why not? There is absolutely nothing inconsistent about simultaneously believing "people should not do X" and "the government should not prevent people from doing X".