A new 100-minute documentary plays with suspicion, and dares to point to someone like the creator of Bitcoin and author of the whitepaper that was published in 2008.
He has denied it immediately, without waiting to generate any type of uncertainty. However, there are many reasons why, if the real identity of the creator of Bitcoin were discovered, he would deny it to the grave. According to the new HBO documentary, ‘Electronic Money: The Mystery of Bitcoin’, the person behind the 2009 launch of what is today the largest crypto asset in the DeFi sector is Peter Todd, a Canadian software engineer who has been linked to the project. since its beginnings.
Todd graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Media from OCAD University in 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile, and is active in GitHubthe developer portal, since 2008. It is true that Todd has worked on the development of Bitcoin for years, as well as that he is an expert in the technology behind the digital currency and that he has given numerous interviews or talks explaining his system. However, he calls the claim that he is the person behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto ridiculous.
The truth is that the American production company’s documentary, directed by Cullen Hoback, does not provide very conclusive evidence. Basically (and as is usual, on the other hand, in this type of entertainment products) they cling to speculation to point to Todd as the original creator of Bitcoin.
They argue this, among other things, based on the fact that Todd had a relationship with Adam Back, someone who in turn was in contact with Satoshi Nakamoto during those early years, as well as that Todd responded to a message from Nakamoto on a forum back in 2010.
Putting Todd’s name on the table is somewhat novel, since Todd has never been on the list of names that could most likely be Satoshi Nakamoto. These are: Paul Le Roux, Nick Szabo, Gavin Wood and Craig Wright. Even the NSA, the American National Security Agency, has been accused of having created Bitcoin in the shadows. A theory that, despite not having any evidence behind it, is interesting in the sense that it would explain why the North American authorities have not been able (at least as far as is known) to identify its creator.
On YouTube, you can find several videos in which Todd talks about the star cryptocurrency, dating back up to 10 years.
We will probably never know his identity
Even if the creator of Bitcoin is one of the names mentioned, it is unlikely that he will ever confirm his identity himself. Knowing who he is would most likely cause a huge earthquake in the crypto ecosystem, with strong price changes that could shake the currently powerful Bitcoin economy (it is trading at $62,000 at the time of writing this).
This is because Nakamoto has a ridiculously large amount of bitcoin in his wallet (worth billions of dollars), and although he has not recorded movements in his wallet for years, giving him a face would mean highlighting the imbalance of his system, since a single actor (Nakamoto) could alter the entire crypto space at will, given the large amount of bitcoins it holds.
Something that, of course, would not be good for the thousands of people who have decided to invest in the digital asset around the world.
