Peter Todd, a well-known Canadian Bitcoin developer, has been named as the possible creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, in the HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin History.” The documentary, directed by Cullen Hoback, aired on Tuesday and sparked a lot of debate within the crypto community.
Todd, who played a significant role in various blockchain projects such as OpenTimestamps, Counterparty, Mastercoin, and Zcash in 2016, is now at the center of this unexpected claim that he might be Satoshi Nakamoto.
According to Hoback, Todd once made a comment in a chat log, calling himself the “world’s leading expert on how to sacrifice your bitcoins.” Hoback argues that this statement of Todd, is an “admission” that he might have destroyed access to the 1.1 million bitcoins owned by Nakamoto.
Hoback also claimed Todd had accidentally replied to a 2010 BitcoinTalk forum post by Nakamoto, using his own account.
However, Todd himself strongly denied the theory on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying, “I’m not Satoshi.” He dismissed the documentary’s claims as “ludicrous” before it even aired. Despite this, speculation continued to build, and Todd’s name gained attention among viewers.
Source: X
Interestingly, Todd’s name wasn’t initially listed as a betting option on the popular prediction platform Polymarket . Speculators had focused on other figures like Len Sassaman, Adam Back, and Nick Szabo, with Todd eventually falling into the “Other/Multiple” category, which attracted 99% of bets after leaked footage hinted at his naming.
While Todd denies being Satoshi, the documentary has certainly fueled further curiosity and debate over Bitcoin’s mysterious creator. For now, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery.
