Peter Todd, one of the original developers of Bitcoin, has claimed that he is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the original cryptocurrency. Hours before the premiere, Todd commented on an HBO documentary suggesting that Todd is Satoshi.
On Tuesday afternoon in New York City, hours before the scheduled premiere of Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, the Polymarket betting odds on who would be named Satoshi in the film were overwhelmingly in favor of Other/Multiple. At the time the Polymarket bet was created, Todd was not listed as a possible candidate, so anyone who wanted to bet on him becoming “unmasked” in the movie had to choose “Other/Multiple.”
There is no irrefutable evidence
The documentary, which is about 100 minutes long, covers the history of Bitcoin and other crypto projects, but doesn’t provide conclusive evidence that Todd was Satoshi.
There was some circumstantial evidence, including Todd’s interest in crypto from a young age, his relationship with Adam Back (who corresponded with Satoshi), his technical ability, and Satoshi’s use of British/Canadian spelling combined with the fact that Todd is from Canada. The strongest piece of evidence in the movie was a public forum post in 2010 in which Todd responded to one of Satoshi’s posts. Hoback claimed that Todd’s post was a follow-up to Satoshi’s post, but was accidentally sent from an account that had Todd’s name on it, not Satoshi’s.
However, the documentary did not definitively conclude that Todd was indeed Satoshi. Even the final confrontation between Hoback and Todd – a clip that had previously leaked on social media – was speculative.
Hoback quoted another blog post where Todd said he was “probably the world’s leading expert” on how to “donate Bitcoin,” though even the filmmaker admits that was a weak endorsement at best.
“It was hard not to take it as an admission, as if Peter wanted his inner circle to believe that he had in fact sacrificed Bitcoins and destroyed all access,” he said. “But it wasn’t proof.”
The Bitcoin that Satoshi mined never left his wallet, leading to speculation that Satoshi either died or intentionally didn’t touch the coins.
Confrontation
In the documentary, Hoback confronts Todd, laying out his theory on how and why Todd covered up his alleged involvement in the invention of Bitcoin. Todd shakes his head and laughs at Hoback’s assertions.
“I have to admit, you’re pretty resourceful. You come up with some crazy theories. It’s ridiculous,” Peter Todd says in the movie. – But I will say, yes, of course I’m Satoshi. And I’m Craig Wright.”
This is clearly a joke, not an admission: Todd has previously made similar claims about being “Satoshi,” telling podcast host Peter McCormack of the podcast What Bitcoin Did in a 2019 interview, “I’m a Satoshi like everyone else.”
Todd, still laughing, warns Hoback that he’s drawn the wrong conclusion.
“It’s going to be really funny when you put that in a documentary and a bunch of Bitcoiners watch it,” Todd said. “I suspect a lot of them will be very happy if you go that route because it’s another example of journalists really missing the point, and it’s very funny.”
Hoback responds by asking what the point is.
“The point is to make Bitcoin the world’s currency,” Todd replies.
Although Peter Todd was an early Bitcoin developer and someone deeply involved in the early years of Bitcoin, he has never been the prime suspect in journalists’ long-running hunt for Satoshi. Figures such as Hal Finney, Nick Szabo and Back are most often assumed to be the creators of Bitcoin, though they all deny it.
During McCormack’s podcast, Todd said he bought his first Bitcoin when the price per coin was 20 cents (meaning he made the purchase around October 2010, two years after the Bitcoin white paper was released).
The movie never clarified the identity of the legendary Satoshi – unfortunately, Hoback was unable to replicate his success and solve this mystery.
