Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? HBO Documentary speculates Peter Todd is creator of Bitcoin...

An HBO documentary called 'Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery' has delved into one of the internet's most speculated origins: who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin?

Bitcoin's unidentified creator is only known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and hence, their origin (person or group) is much speculated, ranging from wild guesses to conspiracy theories.

Who Does The Documentary Say Is Satoshi Nakamoto?

According to a Bloomberg report on the film, the 100-minute-long docu movie's answer is Canadian software developer Peter Todd.

The docu movie's creator, Cullen Hoback, interviewed people who have been involved with Bitcoin since its early days, including Adam Back (who some speculate to be Nakamoto), investor Roger Ver, Bitcoin marketer Samson Mow, and Todd himself.

Hoback reportedly used posts from an early Bitcoiner forum to speculate that Todd is Nakamoto.

However, when directly questioned during the interview, Todd dismissed the idea as "ludicrous" and even mockingly stated "I am Satoshi Nakamoto" at one point in the documentary, Bloomberg reported. Several others spoken to in the movie also laugh off the idea of being Nakamoto.

About Peter Todd

Based in Toronto, Todd is listed as an applied cryptography consultant on developer platform GitHub, Blomberg reported.

He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Integrated Media from OCAD University in 2011, according to a LinkedIn profile scoped by Bloomberg, which also noted his job roles as “Chief Naysayer” at Bitcoin security provider Coinkite, chief scientist at anonymizing wallet service Dark Wallet and chief scientist at project Mastercoin.

Satoshi Nakamoto: Origin Unknown

Bitcoin was launched in January 2009 after a white paper outlining the concept was released in 2008. Since then, many have tried to identify the creator.

In 2014, the American publication Newsweek claimed that physicist Dorian Nakamoto was the one, but the man himself denied the same.

In 2015, the New York Times (NYT) claimed computer scientist Nick Szabo as the elusive creator.

Since 2016, Australian computer scientist Craig Wright has claimed to be Nakamoto, but in March 2024, a UK judge ruled that he was not and referred his claims to UK prosecutors for alleged perjury.

Besides these, online forums such as Reddit speculate that Todd and even the American agency CIA are creators of Bitcoin.

Why is Nakamoto Important?

Well, the creator of the world's largest cryptocurrency, has not been heard from since 2011. But their wallets hold as much as 1 million Bitcoin worth $62.4 billion at current prices, as per the Bloomberg report.

The large number of coins, if moved, could crash the token, but Nakamoto's wallets have not seen movement in years.

The creator’s identity could also have a profound impact on governments’ and corporations’ willingness to continue to adopt the world’s biggest cryptocurrency.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)