'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The HBO documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, which aired on October 8, 2024, has stirred controversy after leaked clips hinted that former Bitcoin developer Peter Todd could be Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin's creator.
Directed by Cullen Hoback, who earlier made an HBO series that exposed the person behind the QAnon conspiracy, the film goes deep into the history of cryptocurrency and rekindles the years of speculation surrounding Satoshi's identity. The documentary runs 100 minutes, thus exploring life in regard to some of the key figures involved in the development of Bitcoin.
However, its provocative suggestion that Peter Todd could be the elusive Satoshi has attracted equal parts of interest and skepticism. Todd denied the allegation in an email to CoinDesk, which he described as "ludicrous." However, the controversy remains rather buoyant.
Trending
Who is Peter Todd?
Peter Todd is a Canadian cryptographer and developer who joined Bitcoin's codebase in 2012. He was an active player during the "blocksize war," a mining disagreement that took place between 2015 and 2017.
Peter Todd sided with the "small blockers," where some personalities, like Adam Back, agreed on having the block size in Bitcoin remain at 1 megabyte, arguing against the "big blockers," who preferred and voted for enlargement of the block size for faster and cheaper transactions. That side emerged victorious, and therefore a new currency was launched by those who disagreed, Bitcoin Cash.
Beyond the Bitcoin efforts, Peter Todd founded OpenTimestamps, which is an open-source project to standardize blockchain timestamping. He has contributed to "Bitcoin 2.0" projects like Counterparty and Mastercoin and helped launch the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash in 2016.
While known for his technical contributions, Peter Todd drew considerable media attention in 2019 when the privacy-tech expert Isis Lovecruft accused him of s*xual misconduct, to whom a defamation lawsuit he filed has just settled this year.
Is Peter Todd really Satoshi Nakamoto?
The documentary suggests that Peter Todd, a Canadian Bitcoin developer, might be Satoshi Nakamoto. It connects Todd's early interest in cryptography, technical skills, and ties with key figures like Adam Back, who communicated with Satoshi. The film also points to the British/Canadian spelling in Satoshi's writings, linking it to Todd's Canadian background.
Todd has firmly denied being Satoshi Nakamoto. He insists that the theory is pure fantasy and dismisses it during a debate with Hoback in the documentary.
What evidence does the documentary present?
The documentary has a few circumstantial pieces to drive its case forward, but none of it is conclusive. However, one of the key points is when the film postulates evidence found in a 2010 public forum message where Todd responded to a message from Satoshi.
According to Hoback, Todd could have posted the message under his own name instead of Satoshi's, and this could have perhaps been an error that would associate him with the mysterious pseudonym. It also mentions Todd's claiming to be one of the leading experts about how to "sacrifice bitcoin," although that is very flimsy connection at best.
Though it is a great story, no concrete evidence is provided in the documentary. Hoback also admits at one point that the admission of Todd supposedly destroying bitcoins as an inner circle to Satoshi might be reading too much into coincidence-based theories. In the absence of the movement of Bitcoin from Satoshi's original wallet, which still remains untouched, the claims of the film are speculative, not factual.
Why has this theory gained so much attention?
The theory about Peter Todd has attracted much attention primarily because of the dramatic revelations it held in the documentary and the fact that Todd holds a position in the Bitcoin world.
As one of the early developers of Bitcoin, Todd was very much involved in the world of cryptocurrencies but was never someone suspected during the search for Satoshi. Most of those who come up in the media are names such as Hal Finney, Nick Szabo, and Adam Back. So, one could never have anticipated Todd being featured in the documentary.
Another cause of the heightened publicity is because of Hoback's past experience of uncovering masked identities, as proven by his previous reporting of QAnon. Many are actually expecting whether this particular investigation would also bring a similar discovery to what happened during his previous reports.
Nevertheless, the suspense about Todd and the documentary itself suggests that many people are interested in Bitcoin's creator.
