Is Peter Todd the Real Face of BTC Founder Satoshi Nakamoto?

Peter Todd’s phone has not stopped ringing for the past 24 hours. Also, his name is currently the most searched on the internet. Everyone wants to know about the ‘real’ face behind Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous name used by the founder of Bitcoin. 

This revelation was brought to light after a documentary was released on HBO in the late hours of Tuesday. However, the Canadian software developer refused such claims and stated that such false news could put his life in danger.

I'm not Satoshi.

— Peter Todd (@peterktodd) October 8, 2024

The documentary titled Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery was anticipated to shed light on one of the greatest mysteries in the tech world. Moreover, it would provide insights and explore the various theories surrounding Nakamoto’s identity. The documentary, which premiered on HBO, pointed out that Todd could ideally be the developer behind Bitcoin’s whitepaper and blockchain technology. 

Cullen Hoback, the producer of the show, stated that a few coincidences and forum posts pointed to Todd as the BTC founder. He added that Todd was a college student when the cryptocurrency was initially developed, which strengthened his thoughts. He said,

We’re making a very strong case. And ultimately, I want to leave it up to the audience to draw their own conclusion.

However, Todd refused to be identified as Nakamoto and stated that such revelations could pose a danger to him. He also added that people like Hoback should refrain from searching for the cryptocurrency’s founder and stated that Satoshi hid his identity to prevent unnecessary attention.

Earlier in 2021, Hoback made a documentary titled Q: Into the Storm, which focused on the names behind the QAnon conspiracy theory. The series consisted of six episodes and received mixed reviews.

Revealing the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is not new, as many have speculated several coders and programmers in the past but ended up being embarrassed by pointing to the wrong person. In 2011, a cryptography student in Ireland, Michael Clear, was claimed to be Nakamoto, but the student denied such claims.