It is another amazing and interesting day in Bitcoin.

Today it appears the media has found Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin.

Things will not be the same. Some in the Bitcoin community are hoping they can ignore or downplay this out of respect for Satoshi’s privacy. One popular internet site had a large number of down votes on the news articles related to this by people who are upset that the news reporter released personal information on Satoshi.

But, sadly for Satoshi, the privacy ship has sailed. There is no way to undo this news and there is simply nothing anyone in the Bitcoin community can do to undo the desire of news media to cover this. From what we know, it appears that Satoshi has been living in plain site and that clearly he prefers privacy.

If that is the case, unfortunately what he seeks will be hard to achieve.

This is a massive news story and the media will hound him, follow him, photograph him while shopping, they will search his garbage and dig up every detail of his past.

Worse yet, thieves, scammers, opportunists and others will emerge. He will be in danger. His family is in danger.

Private people suddenly thrust into public life as celebrities, especially the unwilling, often face great stress. The news is littered with reports of those who were suddenly thrust into the public eye only to have challenges with it. Sometimes those who attempt to avoid the media end up being hounded even worse.

A news cycle often starts positive and then turns. For a week or two the story will be how “exciting” and “interesting” this news is. But, when that news cycle no longer sells ad space, something else needs to replace it. Sadly and likely this will be the time that every detail of every piece of dirt this man has ever been remotely related to will come out. If he had a roommate with a criminal record, if he ever had a relationship with embarrassing details if he even shouted at a store clerk 15 years ago it will come forward. Any overdrawn check he every wrote, anything will be brought forward. Worse than this will be irrelevant items taken out of context and worse than this will be the flat out untrue items which come forward: liars, scammers, publicity hounds, betrayers and sell outs will all come forward.

We as a community are used to scammers, thieves, wild press, attacks and crazy rides. This time is different because it won’t be just our Bitcoin concept and currency that is attacked but a man with a family and a life. I’m not sure what we can do to help him but I do know that it is our community….his community….who must stand with him, help, him, protect him in any way we can.