A new HBO documentary has sensationally suggested that Canadian developer Peter Todd is the mastermind behind Bitcoin, until now identified only by the pseudonym ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’.
Todd is not among the usual suspects alleged to have launched the first decentralized cryptocurrency in 2008 – but a filmmaker says his credentials and early involvement in Bitcoin ‘lines up’ with what we know about the elusive Satoshi.
The 39-year-old vehemently denied being the anonymous founder hours before ‘Money Electric: the Bitcoin Mystery’ aired, dismissing the claims as ‘crazy theories’.
He has been involved in Bitcoin since its founding as a core developer, however, and acknowledges having ‘deep insights’ into Bitcoin in the early days.
In the closing scenes of the documentary, he says, ‘Well yeah, I’m Satoshi Nakamoto’ – apparently an expression of solidarity with the anonymous founder’s privacy bid.
Peter Todd was sensationally suggested to be the mastermind behind Bitcoin in the new doc
Todd became involved in the world of crypto when he was 15, he previously told a podcast
A statue in Budapest, Hungary dedicated to the elusive founder of Bitcoin
Filmmaker Cullen Hoback investigated the identity of the man behind the Bitcoin phenomenon
Filmmaker Cullen Hoback told the New York Times he was convinced that Todd was behind the incredibly successfully cryptocurrency, however.
‘I’m very convinced,’ he told Kevin Roose.
‘Based on the evidence, I believe Peter Todd was Satoshi. He may have let others in on the secret, but everything lines up with him.’
While Todd is not among those usually named, his involvement in the early days of Bitcoin make him a viable candidate, followers say.
Castle Island Ventures Founding Partner Nic Carter told POLITICO: ‘He is one of the most important bitcoiners, from a technical perspective.’
‘Generally speaking, people consider his views on bitcoin as very important.’
But Carter doubted the allegations Todd was Satoshi.
‘There’s no bigger mystery in history,’ he said. ‘I personally hope we never find out who Satoshi is.’
Todd dismisses the association as ‘ludicrous’, claiming he was ‘too busy with school and work’ to have been involved.
Believed to be one of the few people who communicated with Nakamoto prior to his disappearance from online chats in 2011, Todd would have been 23 when Nakamoto first published Bitcoin’s white paper.
He said he became involved in the world of crypto when he was 15.
In his later career, Todd also worked as chief scientist at Mastercoin – a digital currency and communications protocol built on the Bitcoin blockchain.
He went on to assume the role of chief scientist at Dark Wallet, an open-source Bitcoin wallet.
In 2016, he set up cryptographic keys to secure wallets and blockchain protocol for Zcash, a cryptocurrency based on Bitcoin’s codebase.
It is not clear what became of Satoshi Nakamoto in that time, having only had direct involvement in Bitcoin until the start of the last decade.
Followers of the cryptocurrency have tried to identify the elusive founder – worth an estimated $69bn if still in control of their bitcoin wallet – for years, without any serious progress.
The name Satoshi itself means wise in Japanese. Some have suggested it could refer to a group, rather than an individual, joined in common purpose.
Last year, it emerged Apple Mac computers contain a hidden manifesto dedicated to Bitcoin – reigniting speculation after it was suggested Steve Jobs may have been behind the cryptocurrency.
The discovery was made by tech blogger Andy Baio and prompted speculation that the Bitcoin founder and Apple genius were somehow related.
Separately Jason Williams, author of Bitcoin: Hard Money You Can’t F*ck With, said on the platform: ‘Steve Jobs is Satoshi Nakamoto. I am serious.’
However others were quick to point out that Apple temporarily banned Bitcoin from its app store in 2014 amid concern over volatile cryptocurrencies.
An Australian computer scientist also came forward claiming to have created Bitcoin in a 2021 court case.
The family of David Kleiman alleged that he and Craig Wright together made up the identity of Nakamoto.
Wright was ordered to pay $100 million in damages to Kleiman’s family after a jury surmised he had breached intellectual property rights.
Todd wrote on Twitter/X ‘I’m not Satoshi’ amid speculation surrounding the documentary
While Todd is not among the usual suspects, his credentials and involvement in the early days of Bitcoin make him a viable candidate, followers say
Todd said he became involved in the world of crypto when he was 15
One Bitcoin at the time of writing is worth $63,126.50
Britain’s High Court ruled in May 2024 that Craig Wright had lied ‘extensively and repeatedly’ in a failed bid to claim he was Satoshi Nakamoto.
In 2014 Newsweek published a story called ‘The Face Behind Bitcoin’ which claimed to have unmasked the father as retired physicist Dorian Nakamoto.
Columnist Leah McGrath Goodwin claims that when she visited him at is California home he told her he was ‘no longer involved in that,’ adding he ‘cannot discuss it.’
However after the article was published the Japanese-American scientist insisted he had misunderstood Goodman’s questions.
He also claimed he hadn’t heard of Bitcoin prior to the article being published.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk was pressed to deny he was Nakamoto in a 2017 tweet.