Table of Contents
The mystery of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto's identity has long plagued the crypto industry but more than a decade later, the truth is still beyond reach.
HBO is the latest to take a stab at identifying the pseudonymous crypto OG. In its new documentary, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, HBO suggests that Canadian software developer Peter Todd might be the man behind Nakamoto.
Even the lead-up to the documentary had the industry speculating. First, Cypherpunk community leader, Len Sassaman, was believed to be HBO's big reveal.
Perion Lim
Not only was he a contributor to the legendary Cypherpunk mailing list, where Bitcoin was first announced by Satoshi Nakamoto but 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.
Just days later, American computer scientist, legal scholar, and cryptographer Nicholas (Nick) Szabo became the frontrunner in Polymarket's prediction market for the individual to be identified as Nakamoto.
Blockhead
Szabo is well-known for developing the concept of smart contracts and for designing a decentralized digital currency mechanism called "bit gold," which has been described as a direct precursor to Bitcoin's architecture. His insights into cryptography and decentralized systems have been highly influential in shaping the landscape of modern blockchain technology.
Airing last night, the documentary directed by Cullen Hobak, presented circumstantial evidence including forum posts from early Bitcoin discussions, to claim that Todd was the true Nakamoto.
JUST IN: Peter Todd denies being Satoshi, the creator of Bitcoin, after the HBO documentary pic.twitter.com/lWvkFnkejf
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) October 9, 2024
Hoback is best known for identifying the person behind the QAnon conspiracy theory in his previous HBO documentary, Q: Into The Storm.
However, Todd dismissed the claim as "ludicrous" and told CoinDesk that Hoback was "grasping at straws."
"Yes, that interview did happen and I believe that specific shot isn't deepfaked," he confirmed, though he added he had not yet seen the documentary.
"Of course, I'm not Satoshi," Todd said. "It's ironic that a director who is also known for a documentary on QAnon has resorted to QAnon style coincidence-based conspiracy thinking here too."
Peter Todd being told he is Satoshi in HBO Documentary (LEAKED)pic.twitter.com/99kerNeczG
— Altcoin Daily (@AltcoinDailyio) October 9, 2024
The documentary also includes interviews with other early Bitcoin figures like Adam Back, Roger Ver, and Samson Mow.
Todd is listed as an applied cryptography consultant on GitHub and his possible connection to Satoshi has been debated for years. Nakamoto’s wallets, holding around 1 million Bitcoin (worth $62.4 billion), remain untouched.
If the real Nakamoto were to move any of these tokens, the impact would be significant on the market. Like Mow said in the documentary, "It's too high risk for Satoshi to come back. If you get implicated as Satoshi, every country in the world is going to go after you."
Hoback agreed, questioning, "Why would a murderer go back to the scene of the crime?"
