Peter Todd Is The Hidden Satoshi: HBO Documentary Raises Doubt

Key Points:

• HBO’s Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery suggests cryptographer Peter Todd as a potential candidate for Satoshi Nakamoto, a claim Todd denies as “ludicrous.”
• The documentary presents circumstantial evidence, including Todd’s early involvement in Bitcoin development and his use of pseudonyms.

The mysterious originator of Bitcoin has been subject to much speculation, and this might just have heated up again with the HBO documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery.

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HBO Documentary Suggests Peter Todd as Bitcoin’s Mysterious Creator

The 100-minute film, which was released on October 8, discusses a theory based on a certain Peter Todd, one of the prominent cryptographers who also happened to be one of the early developers of Bitcoin, as being the mysterious figure behind the cryptocurrency.

Included in the documentary are interviews with many of the early Bitcoin community’s key figures, such as long-time Satoshi candidate Adam Back, investor Roger Ver, and marketer Samson Mow.

Peter Todd, also featured in the film, described the prospect of his being Nakamoto as “ludicrous.” The film does string together circumstantial evidence – including Todd’s activity on early Bitcoin forums and use of pseudonyms – some say emulates Nakamoto’s penchant for anonymity.

Todd was one of the first developers to become involved in Bitcoin. He took part in discussions on cryptographic principles and blockchain technology in the early days of cryptocurrency. The depth of his knowledge and early work on the Bitcoin codebase has led more than a few to speculate he has the technical capability to do so. Ahead of the release of the documentary, Peter Todd emailed CoinDesk to deny the claim, stating, “Of course I’m not Satoshi.”

Crypto Community Skeptical as Bitcoin Creator Debate Rages On

The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has been among the biggest mysteries in the crypto space. Many people have been touted as possible candidates, from physicist Dorian Nakamoto to computer scientist Nick Szabo and Australian businessman Craig Wright, who notoriously claimed to be Nakamoto but was later debunked by a UK court.

Crypto community members have been skeptical too, as the identification of Nakamoto is extremely hard to prove. Another big challenge has to do with the stash of some 1.1 million Bitcoins, worth around $66 billion, that has lain untouched since Bitcoin’s inception in 2009.