- Film director, Cullen Hoback, points to Peter Todd as Bitcoin’s inventor
- Hoback relies on a 2010 web forum post in which Todd responded to one of Satoshi’s post
- Todd points out that he’s Satoshi “as is everyone else”
HBO’s latest documentary has named Bitcoin core developer Peter Todd as Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor behind Bitcoin.
“Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” directed by Cullen Hoback, examines Bitcoin’s early days and some of its key figures. Using old and new clues, Hoback confronts Todd and Blockstream founder Adam Back with the evidence, according to a report from Politico.
During the documentary’s finale when confronted with a question from Hoback, Todd said: “Yeah, I’m Satoshi Nakamoto.” This is far from being a confession, though, as Todd also said he was Craig Wright.
Hoback’s reasoning behind Todd being Bitcoin’s creator lies in a 2010 web forum post in which Todd responded to one of Satoshi’s posts. According to Hoback, Todd’s post is a continuation of Satoshi’s that was mistakenly sent from Todd’s account rather than Satoshi’s.
The film director cited another clue, in which Todd wrote in a blog post that he was “probably the world’s leading expert” on how to sacrifice Bitcoin, adding that he had “done one such sacrifice”. According to Hoback, this was an admission that Todd had sacrificed his ability to access Bitcoin.
Not a confession
Todd’s admission is by no means concrete proof that the Canadian developer is the cryptocurrency’s inventor.
Todd is well known for saying the phrase “I am Satoshi,” In fact, during a 2019 interview in “What Bitcoin Did,” with podcast host Peter McCormack, Todd said, “I am Satoshi, as is everyone else.”
Ahead of the documentary’s release, Todd denied he was Satoshi after it was leaked online. Following its release, Todd took to social media again to deny he was Satoshi after someone called him out, writing, “I’m not Satoshi.”
During the documentary, Todd said to Hoback after he presented his theory: “This is going to be very funny when you put this into the documentary and a bunch of bitcoiners watch it.”
Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin company Casa, wrote on X that “wherever Satoshi may be, I like to think they’re having a laugh at this latest round of foolishness.”