Peter Todd, a Canadian cryptographer and computer scientist, has gone into hiding following the release of an HBO documentary that names him as Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s mysterious creator.
The documentary Money Electric aired earlier this month on HBO Max. It solely focuses on revealing Bitcoin’s origin and ends up making a strong claim that Todd is the illusive Satoshi Nakamoto.
Todd Faces Backlash Over Satoshi Nakamoto Allegations
Despite being the focus of the documentary, Todd firmly denies the claim that he is Nakamoto. In an interview with WIRED, Todd expressed frustration over the accusations, explaining that they have jeopardized his safety and turned his life upside down.
Since the documentary’s release, Todd has received an overwhelming amount of unwanted attention, including emails from people seeking money.
Read More: Satoshi Nakamoto – Who is the Founder of Bitcoin?
The documentary, directed by Cullen Hoback, features interviews with individuals who played roles in Bitcoin’s early development. Hoback claims that identifying Satoshi is in the public interest, considering the potential implications for Bitcoin and its multi-billion dollar value.
In the documentary, Hoback goes to great lengths to prove Todd’s legitimacy as the Bitcoin founder. He analyzes chat logs and Todd’s programming background and even points out the British Canadian writing style in Bitcoin’s whitepaper.
However, Todd maintains that the evidence presented by Hoback is weak and misleading. While Todd was an active participant in cryptocurrency forums during Bitcoin’s creation, he believes that does not make him Satoshi Nakamoto.
Hoback references a moment in December 2010 when Todd corrected a forum post by Satoshi Nakamoto, but Todd views this as coincidental, not proof of his identity. After the documentary, Hoback has also made several tweets emphasizing his views on why Todd is potentially Bitcoin’s creator.
“Satoshi proposed Replace by Fee in the post Peter corrected. Years later, Peter would go on to write the code,” Hoback wrote in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter).
Satoshi’s Identity Remains Hiden For a Reason
Since the documentary aired, Todd has emphasized the dangers of trying to uncover Satoshi’s identity, arguing that Bitcoin’s creator wanted to remain anonymous for valid reasons. He believes that revealing this information poses a real threat to individuals and that the quest to unmask Satoshi should not be encouraged.
Read More: What Is a Satoshi? Everything About Bitcoin’s Smallest Unit
“Obviously, falsely claiming that ordinary people of ordinary wealth are extraordinarily rich exposes them to threats like robbery and kidnapping. Not only is the question dumb, it’s dangerous. Satoshi obviously didn’t want to be found, for good reasons, and no one should help people trying to find Satoshi,” Peter Todd told WIRED.
Despite these public denials and attempts to distance himself from the documentary’s claims, Todd now faces an uncertain future, living in hiding due to concerns for his personal safety.
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