The Bitcoin Mystery: Has Satoshi Nakamoto Really Been Found?

The Bitcoin Mystery: Has Satoshi Nakamoto Really Been Found?Speculation has run rampant on the internet about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, claims Nakamoto is a cypherpunk, while others believe he was an anarchist

The Bitcoin Mystery: Has Satoshi Nakamoto Really Been Found?

Speculation has run rampant on the internet about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, claims Nakamoto is a cypherpunk, while others believe he was an anarchist. Recently, American filmmaker Cullen Hoback claims to have cracked the case - the real Nakamoto is not a programming prodigy or a criminal mastermind, but Peter Todd, a developer from Canada who was just a college student at the time. Hoback presented this theory in his HBO documentary "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery," which premiered on October 18th. However, Todd responded with scathing sarcasm: "This is a stupid and dangerous question. Satoshi clearly doesn't want to be found, and we shouldn't help those who try to find him."

For years, countless people have attempted to unveil Nakamoto's identity, but have all failed. In 2011, Adam Penenberg, a writer for The New Yorker, claimed that Nakamoto was a 23-year-old cryptography postgraduate student from Ireland named Michael Clear, but this was vehemently denied. Vice, Newsweek, The New York Times, and Wired have also attempted to expose Nakamoto's identity, but their claims either failed to gain traction or were thoroughly debunked. The sheer number of false identities has turned the pursuit into a farce. Some news outlets have received a flood of leads on Nakamoto's true identity, with some people even claiming to be Nakamoto themselves, making identifying the real Nakamoto even more challenging.

Hoback initially did not intend to find out Nakamoto's identity, knowing it to be a "foolish errand." In 2021, he created a six-part documentary, "Q: Into the Storm," which tracked the true identity of the anonymous Q (QAnon). This documentary earned recognition from The New York Times, confirming Hoback's deductions. Less than a week after the completion of the documentary, one of the producers, Adam McKay, encouraged him to pursue Nakamoto's true identity.

As Hoback began investigating Nakamoto's true identity, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele suggested the creation of "Bitcoin City," planning to establish El Salvador as an international tax haven, recognize Bitcoin as the country's legal tender, and create its own Bitcoin reserve. In Hoback's view, the development of Bitcoin may spark renewed interest in the question of "Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?" Nakamoto himself might be pleased to be recognized as a visionary - after all, he would become a potential billionaire.

During his search for Nakamoto, Peter Todd rarely made the list of suspects; however, it is widely known that Todd's mentor, British "cypherpunk" Adam Back, was the first person to communicate with Nakamoto. A 2016 Financial Times article and a 2020 YouTube channel BarelySociable further listed Back as a "possible Nakamoto."

In the documentary, Hoback has a dramatic confrontation with Todd while hiking through the ruins of a steel mill in the Czech Republic. Todd laughs off Hoback's accusations and denies them: "I will admit, you're creative. Some of your theories are crazy. But I warn you, when you put this (conversation) in the documentary, and then it is watched by a bunch of Bitcoin users, this becomes nonsense." Hoback counters with, "As a documentary filmmaker, it's normal to come up with theories like this."

According to Hoback, the awkward stand-off between him, Todd, and Back perfectly proves that "Todd is the real Nakamoto." "Just look at Peter Todd's reaction, look at Adam Back's reaction, and how they react when faced with evidence, the audience will believe me."

Hoback's "evidence" primarily lies in Todd's possessing all the characteristics of Nakamoto. Nakamoto claimed to be Japanese-American, but his posting habits suggest he was a North American, and the English words he used suggest he had Commonwealth background. Nakamoto was adept at cryptography and economics, and Todd had discussed "Hashcash" (a pre-Bitcoin attempt to create online money) with Adam Back via email in high school. Todd's father was also an economist. Furthermore, Nakamoto wasn't a professional programmer, nor was he likely to be an original cypherpunk - this is also perfectly reflected in Todd. For example, Todd had never even heard of David's B-Money (another predecessor to Bitcoin) before Back explained it to him. Contrary to academic convention, the Bitcoin whitepaper has very few citations, suggesting that the inventor of Bitcoin is young. Additionally, Bitcoin is written in C++. Todd denied having professional knowledge in this area in the documentary, but Hoback dug up a self-introduction page from Todd's teenage years, where Todd wrote that he "wrote a complete system from scratch in C++."

"Why would anyone bother to lie?" Hoback retorted. "This is just a high school website, boasting about knowing C++ shouldn't be surprising; but in a professional job where you're responsible for the codebase that secures trillions of dollars, I wouldn't say I'm a good C++ programmer." Todd told The New Yorker.

Hoback told The New Yorker writer Lewis-Kraus: "Even if he's not Satoshi, he's hiding something importantmaybe a path to the story, maybe a bridge to the answer."

In his early 20s, Todd was already a renowned Bitcoin prodigy and Bitcoin troll, maintaining a capricious and pugnacious style online. He believes that Israel should use nuclear weapons against Iran; that people should use cash often, unless they are "brain-dead." He also disagrees with Bitcoin, arguing that the system should be incorporated into inflation. Todd is interested in spelunking, and the first time Hoback interviewed him, he was in a remote World War II military ruin. With his pale complexion and hooded sweatshirt, Todd played the role of a nerd, "Anyone capable of developing Bitcoin wouldn't leave a trace." Hoback explained. Todd countered: "What looks like a mistake could be deliberate misdirection. If I were Satoshi, I wouldn't prove I was Satoshi, that way you'd never be tempted." Hoback: "But you're not Satoshi?" Todd: "Oh, no, I'm Satoshi. I am Satoshi." Hoback rolled his eyes at all this trickery: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're all Satoshi."

The release of the documentary caused a brief fluctuation in Bitcoin prices, with Bitcoin prices rising 4.2% in two days. The media, on the other hand, speculated that the impact of the documentary on Bitcoin prices was limited, after all, there is no concrete evidence that Todd is Nakamoto.

After watching the documentary, Bitcoin enthusiasts may ask a question: Can we find Nakamoto? "Who Satoshi is, or was, has become a tiresome topic. However, for the average person, this question has indeed become an obstacle they cannot overcome; but for those seeking the answer, we are still far from finding Nakamoto." wrote the technology website Blockworks.