New HBO Documentary Might Claim Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto is Len Sassaman - Who is He?

A new HBO documentary titled Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery is set to reveal the real identity of the anonymous creator of Bitcoin. The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has long been debated within crypto communities.

The upcoming documentary seeks to finally uncover the person behind Satoshi Nakamoto, the presumed pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. The HBO documentary suggests that Len Sassaman was the founder of Bitcoin, citing his background in cyberpunk culture.

"I think that people are going to debate it regardless of how strong of a case we made, and that’s fine. That’s the nature of this space. We had a lot more evidence than we were able to include in the film." said Cullen Hoback, the film maker in an interview with Fast Company.

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, also commented, stating, "If that's who the documentary identifies, it should be neutral to positive for BTCUSD, given that Len passed away in 2011 (RIP)."

According to a post on Linkedin, Len Sassaman was born on April 9, 1980, and eventually played a key role in the cyberpunk community. Len discovered his gift for programming at a young age, which led him to pursue computer science.

His talent was evident, and he secured a position at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the organization responsible for developing the foundations of the modern internet, at the age of 18.

In 1999, Len moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and quickly became a regular in the Cypherpunk community. He was also a contributor to the legendary Cypherpunk mailing list, where Bitcoin was first announced by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Len later pursued further studies at the prestigious Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium under the guidance of renowned cryptographers David Chaum and Bart Preneel.

His research with the Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography (COSIC) group earned him a strong reputation in the field of cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies.

Things however took a tragic turn when Len tragically took his life in 2011. As a memorial to Len Sassaman, an obituary is embedded on the Bitcoin network to recognise his efforts.

“Len Sassaman seems like a good candidate to be Satoshi, but I really think it was Hal Finney. During some of Satoshi's final emails, he asks people not to go to Hal for help anymore because "he's done enough."

“If Hal was Satoshi, and wanted to stop working on the project, it makes sense that he would ask people not to bother him with more work. Also makes sense he would want to stop working on it to spend time with his family.” said one Redditor.

However, regardless of who the creator is, Len’s contribution to the entire crypto space is undeniable and his work left a lasting impact.

Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery releases on 8 October 2024 on HBO.