The alleged creator of the infamous bitcoin has received US$28,000 in donations from digital currency supporters, according to news
Dorian S. Nakamoto – a 64-year-old Japanese-American physicist – has denied he created the Bitcoin last week, after Newsweek magazine
reported so, following a foot chase involving Nakamoto and the media in Los Angeles.
Appalled by the violation of Nakamoto’s privacy and the negative bitcoin press, supporters began donating funds via a wallet address set up by Andreas Antonopoulos, chief security officer for Blockchain.info - a digital-currency transaction hub. More than 1,800 payments, amounting to about 44 bitcoins, were received, according to the company’s website.
“If this person is not Satoshi (a pseudonym being used for the bitcoin programmer), then these funds will serve as a ‘sorry for what happened to you’,” Antonopoulos wrote on the social media website, Reddit, on March 8, reported the Financial Post. “It serves to soften the damage caused by irresponsible journalism and to demonstrate the generosity and empathy of the community.”
According to Antonopoulos, donations will be converted to U.S. dollars at the end of the month and offered to Nakamoto, a charity of his choice or, if rejected, they will be given to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties advocacy group based in San Francisco.
Bitcoin hype manifested last month after Tokyo-based Mt. Gox – once the largest exchange for the digital currency – filed for bankruptcy protection after more than $500,000 worth of coins went missing. Last week, Alberta-based, Flexcoin, also shut down after $600,000, or 896 bitcoins, were stolen during a hacker attack.
Last Wednesday, a bitcoin was valued at $658, by global bitcoin trader, Bitstamp. In 2013, the total worth of bitcoins was estimated at $7 billion, according to reports.
Regulators worldwide are concerned the digital currency will be used for money-laundering and illicit sales.
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