A recent HBO documentary has confronted Peter Todd, the Canadian Bitcoin core developer with the accusation that he might be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. Todd’s on-air response of “Well, yeah, I’m Satoshi Nakamoto” has been conflicting but he has vehemently refuted and the statement has been put out as not actually a clear claim to authorship. This has reopened the debate about who is behind Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator.
The Bombshell from the HBO Documentary
Satoshi Nakamoto was believed to be the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, and Cullen Hoback’s HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” has been hell-bent on uncovering who they really are. Among other things, the finale compiled clues Hoback had assembled that seemed to finger Todd as a likely suspect. Fellow “Satoshi Roundtable” attendees- Blockstream founder Adam Back and Todd were both directly faced with the findings.
But Todd’s supposed admission sounded cheekier than revelatory. Given that Todd had famously joked about being the cryptic “I am Satoshi”, many people took his alleged confession as a symptom of sarcasm rather than an actual admission of guilt.
Todd’s Denial of Being Satoshi Nakamoto
Todd denied the allegations ahead of the documentary’s release on social media, repeating he is not Satoshi and his position has hitherto remain unchanged. Todd himself even weighed in on the episode; “I am not Satoshi” Todd tweeted, debunking any rumors that may have swirled from the documentary clip.
Todd doubled-up following the premiere of the documentary on 8 October, stating firmly that he had nothing to do with making Bitcoin. He even answered a user on the platform directly, once more saying with a touch of humor: ‘I am not Satoshi’.
The idea that Peter Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto is not exactly new. At one point during a 2019 appearance on the podcast ‘What Bitcoin Did’, Todd joked that “I am Satoshi, as is everyone else,” alluding to the long-standing gag in the Bitcoin community about finding its inventor.
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Todd joined in that podcast to talk about how he discovered Bitcoin very early, and even shared with the audience his story of purchasing his first BTC at a price of 20 cents. That would put Todd squarely in the early days of Bitcoin, but not unequivocally as its creator.
Why Hoback Thinks Todd Might Be Satoshi Nakamoto
Interestingly, in the documentary, Hoback posited his theory on a chat log message written by Todd that said, “the world’s leading expert on how to sacrifice your Bitcoins.” He added that he had “done one such sacrifice, and I did it by hand.” Taking this cryptic message as a confession, Hoback went on to speculate that Todd was the only person in the world who could have succeeded where all others had failed in their pursuit of the 1.1 million BTC ($69 billion) thought to be held by Nakamoto.
However, Todd offers a more reasonable rationale for why the original Satoshi Nakamoto would stay hidden. He has previously posited that the ultimate use of Satoshi as a pseudonym might be leveraged to make Bitcoin appear more serious. Todd said ideally a cryptic, but professional-sounding alias could force the invention into legitimacy among early adopters, rather than branded as the work of “some kid still in school”.
The Debate Continues
Bitcoin’s creator has remained a mystery ever since anyone learned anything about Bitcoin, as with the story of Todd. New theories or claims trigger a hot debate, which even involves renowned figures like Peter Todd. While the latest HBO documentary revisited these debates, it appears that the true nature of Satoshi Nakamoto is as elusive as ever.
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