Image Credits: Fortune
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HBO’s recent documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, which aired on October 8, has sparked controversy by claiming to reveal the true identity of Bitcoin’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The film suggests that Peter Todd, a prominent Bitcoin Core developer, is secretly Nakamoto, a claim that has quickly been met with skepticism and criticism from the cryptocurrency community.
HBO’s Bitcoin documentary
The documentary’s premise hinges on the idea that Todd used the pseudonymous title of Satoshi Nakamoto to lend credibility to Bitcoin in its early days. However, several inconsistencies in the timeline and facts undermine this theory. Bitcoin was launched in 2008, but Todd, as he has publicly stated on numerous occasions, did not begin working on Bitcoin until 2014. At the time of Bitcoin’s creation, Todd was studying fine arts and had only a passing interest in cryptography.
One of the key points of contention is the documentary’s misinterpretation of a sarcastic remark Todd made, in which he jokingly claimed to be Satoshi. Critics argue that HBO either misunderstood this statement or deliberately used it to support a narrative that Todd himself has repeatedly dismissed.
The documentary also references a 2010 post on the BitcoinTalk forum, an early and influential platform for discussions on Bitcoin. The filmmakers suggest that Todd accidentally posted from his account instead of Satoshi’s, implying that he had been posing as the Bitcoin creator. However, there is no substantial evidence to back this claim, and the theory largely falls apart when scrutinized against Todd’s publicly documented involvement with Bitcoin.
Todd has yet to issue a formal response to the documentary, but many in the crypto space have voiced frustration over the inaccuracies, calling HBO’s film an overreach that distorts facts in favor of a sensationalized story.