- A recent HBO documentary has put forward the theory that Peter Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto
- This has made this developer fear for his personal safety: he keeps receiving emails asking for money
The real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto , the creator of Bitcoin, has always been a mystery. A recent HBO documentary brought together various pieces of information and evidence, and its creators claimed to have found the solution.
According to these data, Satoshi Nakamoto is actually Peter Todd , a cryptography expert developer who has been heavily involved in the world of cryptocurrencies since almost the creation of Bitcoin.
Todd apparently had no idea that the documentary was intended to reveal Nakamoto’s real identity. When he was contacted for an interview, his impression was that the production was dedicated to the history of bitcoin.
In the documentary, Todd wryly claimed “I’m Satoshi” — an old meme among crypto believers — but in an interview immediately afterward he made it clear that “of course I’m not Satoshi.”
Wired quotes him as saying, “I think Cullen [Hoback, the documentary’s director] made that Satoshi accusation for marketing. He needed a way to generate attention for his film.” Hoback stands by his theory, saying, “While I obviously can’t say outright that it’s Satoshi, I think I’ve made a very clear case.”
Whether Todd is Satoshi or not, one thing is certain: he is gone .
The reason for his disappearance is logical. The documentary has caused him to no longer seem to be receiving any emails. “At the moment, they are from people asking for money.” In a conversation with Wired, Todd explained that, for example, one person sent him 25 messages in two days asking him to help pay off a loan.
The developer has indicated that he expects “continuous harassment from crazy people” from now on, and the implications for his personal safety have led him to decide to disappear from the map.
“Obviously, falsely claiming that ordinary people are extraordinarily wealthy exposes them to threats such as robbery and kidnapping. The question is not only silly, it is dangerous. Satoshi obviously did not want to be found, for good reasons, and no one should help people trying to find Satoshi.”
Hoback says that claim is exaggerated, and says that revealing Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity is in the public interest. The evidence he included in his documentary is by no means conclusive, and was mostly circumstantial.
Todd even sent photos of himself to Wired as proof that he was skiing or caving when Satoshi posted some messages on the forums. He himself admits that denying the accusation is not enough.
If someone assumes that Satoshi was sophisticated enough, he explains, ” any theory is possible . The question is pointless, because Satoshi would simply deny it.” Which is, logically, what Todd is doing.
