HBO Bitcoin documentary claims to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto

For years, people have been trying to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic creator of Bitcoin.

Despite the efforts of journalists, researchers, and even self-proclaimed Satoshis, the true identity behind the pseudonym has remained a mystery. Here are some notable attempts to identify Satoshi Nakamoto:

• Dorian Nakamoto, a Japanese-American systems engineer, was identified by Newsweek in 2014 but has consistently denied the claim.
• Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, claimed to be Satoshi, but in March 2024, a London High Court judge ruled against Wright, forcing him to display a humiliating notice on his Twitter feed acknowledging that he "lied to the Court extensively and repeatedly," forged documents "on a grand scale," and committed "a most serious abuse" of court processes in multiple countries while advancing his false claim.
• Nick Szabo, creator of the Bitcoin precursor Bit Gold, has also been suspected due to his expertise in cryptography and digital currencies, but he denies being Satoshi.

But a new documentary, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, which premiered on HBO on October 8, 2024, claims that evidence points to a Canadian developer named Peter Todd. The documentary was created by Cullen Hoback, known for his previous work Q: Into the Storm about the QAnon conspiracy theory.

The documentary presents circumstantial evidence, including forum interactions, timing of online activities, and linguistic analysis to support its theory:

• Forum interaction: In 2010, Todd seemingly responded to a Nakamoto post on a Bitcoin forum, correcting Nakamoto's statement about transaction fees. Hoback suggests this might have been Todd accidentally posting from the wrong account.
• Timing of disappearance: Shortly after this forum interaction, Nakamoto stopped posting online, and Todd vanished from the forum for several years.
• Coding skill level: Nakamoto's coding has been described as amateurish, which would match Todd's skill level as a college student at the time.
• Academic calendar: Nakamoto wrote more about Bitcoin during summers, suggesting they might have been on an academic schedule like a college student.
• British spellings: Nakamoto used British spellings, which could be explained by Todd's Canadian background.

A key scene involves Hoback confronting Todd during a hike in the Czech Republic, where Todd denies being Satoshi. Todd has expressed concerns about the documentary, stating that such claims could expose him to potential dangers like robbery or kidnapping, because Nakamoto has over $64 billion worth of Bitcoin at its current valuation.

From The Washington Post:

In an email to The Post, Todd denied inventing bitcoin, and said people like Hoback should stop looking for the cryptocurrency's founder.

"Not only is the question dumb, it's dangerous," Todd said. "Satoshi obviously didn't want to be found, for good reasons, and no one should help people trying to find Satoshi."

Previously:
• Hacker defies the odds, unlocks $3 million Bitcoin wallet locked since 2013