Despite elusive founder, BITCOIN breaks all records

The cryptocurrency had plunged as much as 20 percent after the Chinese government cracked down on offerings in the digital currency, prompting bitcoin exchanges to close their doors.

Hardly a day passes by without Elon Musk being in news and this time it is for Bitcoin, which is bubbling in value at $11,000 despite the utmost secrecy surrounding its founder, known only by the name Satoshi Nakamoto.

But Musk, co-founder of PayPal, Tesla boss and CEO of SpaceX, who is open about his views on space and cars is not ready to don the fabric of the inventor of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency coin that has reached its highest valuation in its 9-year journey.

Musk swiftly wrote in his tweet when the rumor began to make rounds, "Not true... A friend sent me part of a BTC a few years, but I don't know where it is." Musk was responding to a post on Medium by a writer Sahil Gupta who floated the idea, taking a cue from Newsweek in 2014 to identify the founder of Bitcoin.

Otherwise, no news organization was able to identify Satoshi Nakamoto, the author of the original document in 2009 that proposed a peer-to-peer electronic cash system BITCOIN.

Bitcoin, the virtual currency, which only rose above $8,000 about a week ago, has surged to an incredible 860 percent since the start of the year.

Even a small portion of the cash managed by major funds "would make a dramatic impact on the bitcoin market", said Thomas Glucksmann, head of marketing at Hong Kong bitcoin exchange Gatecoin.

Earlier this month, it plummeted by up to 30 per cent within the space of a few days, before quickly bouncing back, after it appeared traders were switching to rival cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies are virtual "coins" that are "mined" by computers completing complex algorithms. Bitcoin is the most famous and widely used one, pending the secrecy of its founder.

It could be a Japanese, no doubt, as they know how to be humble in the midst of millions and billions. 出る釘は打たれる |

(With inputs from IANS)

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