Who is Peter Todd, and why does HBO think he is Satoshi?

Key Takeaways

HBO’s documentary explores Peter Todd as a potential Satoshi Nakamoto.
Crypto members defend Todd against HBO’s speculative claims.

HBO’s highly anticipated documentary, “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” ended up pointing to Peter Todd as a potential candidate for the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. Who is Peter Todd and why does HBO think he is Satoshi?

Unmasking Peter Todd: Who is he?

Peter Todd, born and raised in Canada, is a known Bitcoin core developer and cryptographer who has gained recognition for his contributions to the Bitcoin ecosystem.

As one of the earliest contributors to the Bitcoin codebase, Todd is among a few individuals who communicated directly with Satoshi before their disappearance in 2011. He previously confirmed that he was in his early teens when he started communication with Hal Finney and Adam Back, two prominent Bitcoin pioneers.

The developer has worked on a handful of blockchain projects, best known as a Bitcoin Core Developer at Coinkite since 2014. He has held prominent roles in several projects, including serving as Chief Scientist at Mastercoin and Dark Wallet.

Todd is also the founder of OpenTimestamps, a project aimed at providing a decentralized timestamping service. He participated in the Zcash trusted setup ceremony in 2016, though he later criticized the process.

Why does HBO identify Peter as Satoshi?

Neither Len Sassaman nor Nick Szabo were named Satoshi in HBO’s released documentary. Rather, the spotlight shone on Peter Todd, an unsuspected individual until a leak just hours before the film’s release.

To support its claims, HBO pointed to a mistaken reply in 2010 when Todd accidentally responded to a post that Satoshi Nakamoto had started on the Bitcointalk forum using his own account. However, this observation was quickly seen as circumstantial, lacking the concrete proof needed to link Todd to Satoshi.

Many crypto community members have clarified that Todd was simply correcting or clarifying Satoshi’s post, not impersonating him.

“Believe it or not, this was their most compelling argument, and it’s not compelling at all. It does not look to me like Peter is continuing Satoshi’s thoughts, it just looks like he is correcting Satoshi, as Peter has done many times,” Pledditor, an X user stated.

HBO’s documentary also brought up the fact that Todd implemented the “replace-by-fee” concept, which was discussed in the same thread on Bitcointalk. It was claimed that he used the pseudonym “John Dillon” to promote the concept and that this pseudonym was linked to Satoshi.

In addition, the film suggested that both Satoshi and Todd used British/Canadian spellings in their online communications, which made it a piece of evidence about their connection. Moreover, it added that Todd’s schedule matched Satoshi’s posting schedule on Bitcointalk.

The show further used Todd’s past discussion of “sacrificing” Bitcoin as evidence that he might be Satoshi, interpreting it as the “destruction” of the coin.

“Again, this is not proof of anything. Just more weak innuendo and circumstance,” Pledditor added.

Though Todd has repeatedly denied being Satoshi, he has faced mounting speculation surrounding his identity. The developer indeed claimed ahead of and after the release that he was not Satoshi.

Backlash and jokes

The theory of Cullen Hoback, based on old chat logs and a 2010 BitcoinTalk post, has sparked criticism and sarcastic comments from members of the crypto community. Prominent figures and organizations have rallied to Todd’s defense, criticizing the documentary’s speculative nature and the dangers it poses to Todd’s safety.

Cobra, administrator of BitcoinTalk, and Adam Cochran of Cinneamhain Ventures, denounced the irresponsible journalism displayed in the documentary.

Piece of shit journalist is putting people in real physical danger. I’m sorry you or Adam have to deal with this nonsense. Stay safe.

— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) October 8, 2024

What a bust.

Wild speculation, lacks understanding of the tech that rules it out, no smoking gun.

And irresponsibly names someone as Satoshi, who is alive today, says they aren’t Satoshi, and does so without solid proof.

The documentary even gets the dates of Todd’s… https://t.co/chLUjIo7fh pic.twitter.com/Ct7mbrjP8G

— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) October 9, 2024

Few know this but I once shared a room with @peterktodd. While he was sleeping I heard him gurgle “It has to be Craig”. What does it mean? https://t.co/rfuzTpwH9s

— Jesse Powell (@jespow) October 9, 2024

Polymarket bettors were right

Polymarket bettors accurately predicted that Satoshi Nakamoto was someone not listed in the poll.

In the days leading up to the documentary’s release, traders initially favored Len Sassaman, with odds reaching 49%. However, as the show approached, bets shifted towards Nick Szabo. Ultimately, the majority of bettors were confident that Satoshi was someone who had not previously been considered.