HBO reveals the identity of the creator of bitcoin, but it’s not accurate

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 denies this achievement.

The film contains 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 as Satoshi Nakamoto; investor Roger Ver; marketer Samson Mow; and Peter Todd. The author of the film, Cullen Hoback, provided circumstantial evidence, including a message on the Bitcoiner forum, according to which Satoshi Nakamoto is Todd. The programmer himself called this idea «ridiculous»; the day before, he said: «Satoshi Nakamoto is me,» but then laughed it off.

The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, whether it is one person or several, has been the subject of much speculation since the advent of Bitcoin in January 2009. The cryptocurrency has now become a powerful financial instrument. Over the years, publications have made various assumptions about who Satoshi Nakamoto is. In 2014, Newsweek stated that he was a physicist named Dorian Nakamoto, but he 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 either.

Todd is listed on the GitHub developer platform as an applied cryptography consultant from Toronto. His LinkedIn profile lists him as a «chief skeptic» at security provider Coinkite, a senior researcher at anonymous wallet Dark Wallet, and a senior researcher at the Mastercoin project. In 2011, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD). «The Bitcoin White Paper was published in 2008; the cryptocurrency network was launched in 2009. Todd has been listed as the alleged author of the project for many years. Satoshi Nakamoto stopped making himself known in 2011 but remains an important figure. His wallets hold more than a million bitcoins, which is about $ 62.4 billion at current prices. Any action by the network creator can bring down cryptocurrency quotes, but his assets have been dormant for many years. Disclosing the identity of the creator of bitcoin could affect the willingness of governments and corporations to use the largest cryptocurrency.