Canadian tech enigma: HBO questions Bitcoin origin mystery
According to an HBO documentary, Peter Todd is claimed to be the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. The network suggests that the Canadian developer might be hiding under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the cryptocurrency's founder. Todd distances himself from HBO's revelations.
Cullen Hoback, a multi-award-winning documentary maker, concluded that Peter Todd is the creator of Bitcoin. This involves Satoshi Nakamoto, a mysterious figure or group that introduced the digital currency over a decade ago. According Politico, Hoback reportedly connected old and new clues concerning Nakamoto's past.
"It seems like you had these deep insights into Bitcoin at the time?" Hoback adressed Todd during the documentary. The Canadian replied, "Well, yeah, I'm Satoshi Nakamoto."
However, this does not mean that the 39-year-old Todd has actually admitted to creating Bitcoin. Politico notes that Todd, who actively defends Ukraine and Israel on Platform X, is known for stating that "I am Satoshi." This is meant to express solidarity with the creator or creators of Bitcoin in their quest for privacy.
Todd reportedly wrote in an email to CoinDesk before the HBO film premiere stating that he is not the creator of Bitcoin. He expressed a similar sentiment on Platform X.
"The truth is pretty simple: there's hundreds, even thousands of people who could have created Bitcoin. We're not going to find Satoshi," Peter Todd wrote.
A decade of speculation
"If Todd is widely accepted as bitcoin's creator, the revelation would end more than a decade of speculation over the identity of a person whose work spawned a global, multibillion-dollar craze for digital currencies: a mania that has pushed back the frontiers of finance but also enabled widespread fraud and other illicit activities," Politico assesses.
"He is one of the most important bitcoiners, from a technical perspective," evaluated Nic Carter from Castle Island Ventures in a conversation with Politico.
According to Carter, Todd cannot be Satoshi Nakamoto. Why? It’s about the deep understanding that the creator of Bitcoin would need to have regarding cryptography and digital monetary systems. "I personally hope we never find out who Satoshi is," he concluded.
