The creator of Bitcoin, known by the name “Satoshi Nakamoto,” has been a mystery since Bitcoin was first introduced in 2008. People have been wondering for years who Nakamoto is, and many have tried to solve this puzzle. Recently, a documentary on HBO called Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery has caught people’s attention because it discusses this mystery. The documentary aired on October 8, 2024, and it got a lot of people excited, thinking that maybe we are closer to learning who Nakamoto really is.
One part of the documentary suggests that Peter Todd, who used to work on Bitcoin, might be the person behind the name Satoshi Nakamoto. This suggestion has caused a lot of talk, especially on social media platforms where clips of the documentary have been shared.
Could Peter Todd Be Satoshi Nakamoto?
Peter Todd, a software developer who worked on Bitcoin, has strongly denied being Satoshi Nakamoto. Todd has been working with Bitcoin since 2010, just two years after it was first introduced. He was part of a group of developers who worked on improving Bitcoin, which is known as the Bitcoin Core development team. Although he was deeply involved in Bitcoin’s development, Todd says that he is not Nakamoto.
In the documentary, the filmmaker Cullen Hoback suggests that Peter Todd and another person, Adam Back, who is the CEO of a Bitcoin development company called Blockstream, may have used a different name on an online forum. This name was “John Dillon.” The forum was called BitcoinTalk, and it is a place where people have been discussing Bitcoin since the early days. Hoback thinks that this profile, “John Dillon,” may have been used by Todd to post about Bitcoin, including his suggestions for improving Bitcoin. For example, in 2015, Todd proposed something called Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 125, which was a change to how Bitcoin transactions work. Hoback believes that this might link Todd to Satoshi Nakamoto.
There is more that Hoback points out in the documentary. He says that logs (records of online activities) and posts on Bitcoin forums might show that Todd could be Nakamoto. Hoback also suggests that Todd might have erased information that would link him to Nakamoto’s ownership of 1.1 million Bitcoins, a huge amount of Bitcoin that Nakamoto is believed to own.
Peter Todd has completely denied these claims. He says that the documentary is irresponsible, and he is worried that these suggestions put his safety at risk. He feels that being accused of being Nakamoto could make him a target for harm.
Who is Peter Todd?
Peter Todd is a developer from Canada. He began working on Bitcoin’s code in 2010 and became an important figure in the cryptocurrency world. In the early years of Bitcoin, people disagreed about how big the “blocks” of transactions should be. Some people, like Todd, wanted to keep the blocks small, while others wanted to make the blocks bigger. This debate was a big deal from 2015 to 2017. The people who wanted smaller blocks, like Todd, were called “small blockers.” In the end, the people who wanted bigger blocks went their own way and created a new cryptocurrency called Bitcoin Cash.
Aside from his work on Bitcoin, Todd started a project called OpenTimestamps. This project helps people prove when something happened using the blockchain. Blockchain is the technology behind Bitcoin that keeps records in a secure and public way. Todd has also worked on other projects related to Bitcoin, including something called “Bitcoin 2.0” projects. These include Mastercoin, Counterpart, and Colored Coins, which are all related to improving or building on the technology behind Bitcoin.
In 2016, Todd helped the famous whistleblower Edward Snowden launch a new type of cryptocurrency called Zcash. Zcash focuses on privacy and helps people keep their financial transactions private, which is something Snowden is known for advocating.
The HBO Documentary Sparks Debate
Even before the documentary aired, parts of it were shared online, leading to a lot of speculation about what the documentary would reveal. In one dramatic scene, Hoback, the filmmaker, tells Peter Todd directly that he is Satoshi Nakamoto. This moment has led to a lot of conversations and debates about whether or not Todd could really be the mysterious creator of Bitcoin.
Peter Todd is not the only person suspected of being Nakamoto. There have been other guesses over the years. However, this documentary has brought Peter Todd into the spotlight. Despite this attention, many people in the cryptocurrency community have come forward to say that these claims about Todd are not true and that the documentary does not have enough evidence to prove anything. Another person suspected of being Nakamoto is Adam Back, but he has not yet responded publicly to the claims made in the documentary.
Interestingly, there are people online who have been betting on who they think is Satoshi Nakamoto. On a platform called Polymarket, users have placed bets on various people who could be the real Nakamoto. Before the documentary aired, some people thought that an American computer scientist named Nick Szabo or a cryptographer named Len Sassaman were the most likely candidates to be Nakamoto. However, the documentary has shifted some of the attention towards Peter Todd.
Final Thoughts
The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery, despite the ongoing speculation and investigations. The mystery of who Nakamoto is has been a key part of Bitcoin’s story and its appeal as a decentralized currency. Because no one knows who created Bitcoin, it adds to the idea that Bitcoin belongs to no one person or company, which is an important part of its value.
Although this new HBO documentary has caused a lot of excitement and discussion, it hasn’t changed the market for Bitcoin. As of the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin was around $62,000, and the cryptocurrency world seemed unaffected by the documentary’s claims.
In the end, while people continue to search for the real Satoshi Nakamoto, the mystery might remain unsolved for a long time. Whether or not Peter Todd or someone else turns out to be Nakamoto, the story of Bitcoin and its anonymous creator will likely continue to fascinate people for years to come.