Peter Todd Denies Being Bitcoin’s Creator Amidst HBO Documentary Claims

Canadian programmer Peter Todd has gone into hiding for safety reasons after being identified as the inventor of Bitcoin in an HBO documentary. This was reported by Wired.

Following the release of Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery by director Cullen Hoback on October 9, Todd has repeatedly denied being the alleged Satoshi Nakamoto.

“For the record: I am not Satoshi. I think Cullen made the claim for marketing purposes. He needed a way to draw attention to his film,” he told the publication.

However, the documentarian is confident he has presented convincing arguments. One of the main pieces of evidence is a post by the programmer on the BitcoinTalk forum in December 2010, where he allegedly “finished Satoshi’s sentence” by mistake from his account. The topic was a method of prioritizing transactions based on fees paid, which Todd later implemented as an official Bitcoin developer.

At the time of the first cryptocurrency’s emergence, the programmer was about 20 years old, leading to doubts within the community about such a young specialist’s ability to create a complex peer-to-peer electronic cash system. According to Hoback, Todd’s age is the reason for his anonymity—he feared the invention would not be taken seriously due to his youth.

The director claims he was ultimately convinced by the programmer’s reaction to the conclusions. Todd’s body language and facial expressions demonstrated that “he was caught,” Hoback asserts.

Todd’s denials were described by the documentarian as attempts to throw “Satoshi hunters off the trail.”

“I’m not at all surprised that Peter went on the offensive. He’s a master of game theory—in what he does. He’s spent many years muddying the waters. An incredible genius,” the director stated.

Unexpected Fame Brings Trouble

Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to own approximately 2 million BTC. Hoback considers this an additional argument for seeking Bitcoin’s creator—as cryptocurrency gains global acceptance, he could become the richest person in the world. For Todd, this aspect has become a risk factor.

“Obviously, the false claim that ordinary people of average means are extraordinarily wealthy exposes them to threats such as robbery and kidnapping. This issue is not only foolish but also dangerous. Satoshi clearly did not want to be found for good reasons, and no one should assist in these searches,” the programmer noted.

This became the main reason he chose to go into hiding. Additionally, after the film’s release, Todd was inundated with letters, mostly requesting financial assistance. For instance, one respondent sent 25 messages in two days, pleading for help to pay off a loan.

Hoback considers these fears exaggerated, as many people like Adam Back or Nick Szabo have been named as potential Bitcoin inventors, yet “nothing terrible has happened in their lives.”

A few days before the premiere of Money Electric, most users on the Polymarket prediction platform bet that Len Sassaman would be named the cryptocurrency’s creator in the film.

The cryptographer took his own life at the age of 31 in 2011, a few months after Satoshi’s disappearance. His widow, Meredith Patterson, confirmed Todd’s concerns were justified. She also felt increased attention and a security threat, so she “breathed a sigh of relief” along with her family when the documentarians pointed to the Canadian programmer.

Earlier in 2023, Casa co-founder and CTO Jameson Lopp presented arguments against the popular community theory that Bitcoin pioneer Hal Finney was the creator of the first cryptocurrency.