Étienne Girard
The new HBO documentary, “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” claims that the elusive creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, could be Peter Todd, a former Bitcoin developer. This documentary, described as a “globe-trotting investigation,” explores various clues about Nakamoto’s identity, eventually focusing on Todd as the potential mastermind behind the cryptocurrency.
However, Todd has publicly denied these claims on social media, expressing skepticism about the film’s conclusion.
In the nearly two-hour documentary, Todd interacts with filmmaker Cullen Hoback, even teasingly claiming to be Nakamoto at one point, only to retract or undermine his statements later. This playful interaction seems to confuse viewers rather than provide clarity. The documentary’s release prompted widespread online discussion, with many cryptocurrency enthusiasts questioning the validity of the film’s findings.
Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery premiered on HBO on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The documentary is directed by Cullen Hoback, who also created Q: Into the Storm, a series that investigated the origins of the QAnon conspiracy.
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The Nakamoto Mystery
The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has remained one of the internet’s most enduring mysteries since the Bitcoin creator vanished in 2010. Nakamoto is believed to control around 1.1 million BTC, worth approximately $68 billion today. Despite years of speculation, Nakamoto’s true identity has never been confirmed, leaving room for endless debate.
Nakamoto is credited with inventing Bitcoin and introducing the concept of decentralized, peer-to-peer transactions, bypassing traditional financial institutions like banks. The launch of Bitcoin came in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, when Nakamoto released the cryptocurrency’s famous white paper and built Bitcoin on a blockchain, ensuring transparency and security. Initially, Bitcoin had no monetary value, but its decentralized nature attracted early supporters, making it the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency today, with a market capitalization exceeding $1.2 trillion.
Debate and Speculation
Before the documentary’s release, Hoback anticipated that his findings would spark controversy, stating that debates would likely arise regardless of the strength of the case presented. The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has long been a topic of speculation, and the documentary’s focus on Peter Todd was a surprising twist. Popular contenders like Len Sassaman, Nick Szabo, Adam Back, and David Kleiman had been the leading names suggested by decentralized prediction platforms, such as Polymarket, but Todd wasn’t widely considered.
Industry experts, like Willem Schroé, CEO of Botanix Labs, commented on the mystery, highlighting the impressive feat that Nakamoto has remained anonymous for over 15 years. Schroé suggested that this level of secrecy hints at Nakamoto being a single individual rather than a group.
In the run-up to the documentary’s release, there was considerable anticipation about who would be named as the potential Bitcoin creator. DeFi researcher @CryptoNobler, with over 100,000 followers on X, speculated that the documentary might take one of two approaches: either suggesting multiple candidates with no definitive conclusion or settling on one individual. In the end, Money Electric made its bold claim by identifying Peter Todd, but the controversy surrounding Nakamoto’s true identity is likely far from over.
