New HBO documentary reveals the identity of Bitcoin’s creator, but it’s not certain

The day before, HBO aired a 100-minute documentary, “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery.” Canadian software developer Peter Todd was named as the creator of the cryptocurrency, but he himself denies this achievement.

Image source: hbo.com

The tape includes several interviews with people who have been involved with Bitcoin from the very beginning. Among them: Adam Back, who was considered the most likely candidate for the role of the creator of Bitcoin, known under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto; investor Roger Ver; marketer Samson Mow and Peter Todd. The author of the film, Cullen Hoback, provided indirect evidence, including messages on the Bitcoiner forum, according to which Satoshi Nakamoto is Todd. The programmer himself called this idea “ridiculous”; at one point he said, “Satoshi Nakamoto is me,” but then laughed about it.

The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, whether one or more individuals, has been the subject of much speculation since the introduction of Bitcoin in January 2009. Now cryptocurrency has become a powerful financial instrument. Over the years, publications have put forward different assumptions about who Satoshi Nakamoto is. In 2014, Newsweek stated that it was physicist Dorian Nakamoto, but he himself rejected this assumption. In 2015, the New York Times pointed to scientist Nick Szabo. Australian Craig Wright proclaimed himself Satoshi Nakamoto, but a British court found that this candidate was not the creator of Bitcoin.

On the GitHub developer platform, Todd is listed as an applied cryptography consultant based in Toronto. His LinkedIn profile lists him as the “chief skeptic” of security provider Coinkite, a senior researcher at the anonymous wallet Dark Wallet, and a senior researcher at the Mastercoin project. He received his BA in 2011 from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD). The Bitcoin White Paper was published in 2008; The cryptocurrency network began operating in 2009. Todd has been listed as a likely author of the project for many years. Satoshi Nakamoto stopped making his presence known in 2011, but remains an important figure. More than a million bitcoins are stored in his wallets – at current prices this is about $62.4 billion. Any action by the creator of the network could bring down the cryptocurrency quote, but his assets have been motionless for many years. Revealing the identity of Bitcoin’s creator could affect the willingness of governments and corporations to use the largest cryptocurrency.