The identity of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto was a mystery for years, and a new HBO documentary titled “Electric Money: The Bitcoin Mystery” reignited speculation.
The film suggests that Peter Todd, a 39-year-old software developer, could be the legendary figure behind Bitcoin.
Evidence presented in the documentary, but we have questions
The documentary, directed by Cullen Hoback, presents mainly circumstantial evidence to support its claims.
It highlights Todd’s early involvement with Bitcoin and his connections to influential figures in the crypto world, including cryptographer Adam Back.
Some key points include a forum post from 2010 where Todd appears to echo Nakamoto’s ideas and a chat transcript where he talks about “sacrificing” Bitcoins.
The filmmaker interprets this as a reference to Satoshi’s untouched stash of over a million coins, valued at around $65 billion.
Todd has firmly denied being Satoshi. BitMEX Research criticized the documentary’s claims as “clearly ridiculous,” stating that Todd’s comments were simply a clever response rather than evidence of his identity as Nakamoto.
They emphasized that there is no reason to believe Todd is Satoshi.
Todd’s background
Peter Todd is not a well-known figure in the cryptocurrency community but does have a presence on X, where he has 167,000 followers.
He has a controversial online persona and has posted about his connections to Ukraine after media attention grew around the documentary.
He mentioned that he has visited Ukraine multiple times during the ongoing conflict, speaking to the local Bitcoin community.
Peter Todd graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto and was only 23 when the Bitcoin white paper was published.
He claims to have started engaging with key crypto influencers when he was around 15 years old.
Nic Carter from Castle Island Ventures, who has known Todd since 2017, acknowledged his technical importance in the Bitcoin community but doesn’t believe he is Satoshi.
Try harder
In an interview with CNN, Todd called the documentary irresponsible and expressed concern for his safety due to the film’s implications.
Plot twist: it was signed by Adam Back pretending to be me pretending to be him. https://t.co/ebeQRGOJiA
— Peter Todd (@peterktodd) October 7, 2024
He stated that HBO didn’t reach out to him before releasing the documentary or offer him the chance to review it. Hoback still remains confident in his conclusions about Todd’s possible connection to Nakamoto.
After all, others do believe in the tooth fairy, so… Todd responded by saying that Hoback is exaggerating coincidences and likened it to conspiracy thinking.
As for the Bitcoin market itself, there was no noticeable reaction to these news, the price remained stable within its trading range at around $62,260 at the time of writing.
Maybe, there is no one else believe that Todd is Satoshi. Mystery isn’t solved.
