Bitcoin Core former developer Peter Todd was recently identified as the creator of Bitcoin, “Satoshi Nakamoto,” in the new documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” by renowned documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback. However, Todd himself denies being Satoshi Nakamoto and claims that he has been mistakenly identified by Hoback, leading to chaos and threats in his real life.
Cullen Hoback’s documentary, “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” was officially released on HBO and MAX on October 9th. Prior to its release, Hoback hinted that the documentary might reveal the true identity of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, which made it a topic of focus in the cryptocurrency community.
After the documentary was released, Cullen Hoback claimed that Satoshi Nakamoto is indeed Peter Todd, a former Bitcoin Core developer. However, Peter Todd vehemently denies being Satoshi Nakamoto and has stated to Coindesk that Hoback’s accusations are baseless. He has become a scapegoat for Hoback and criticizes the documentary for adopting QAnon-style conspiracy theories.
The documentary’s allegations have caused Todd’s real life to be in turmoil. According to an interview with Wired, Todd’s life has been threatened due to the documentary’s false conclusions, forcing him to go into hiding. Todd also reiterates that Cullen Hoback’s conclusions are based on unsubstantiated evidence.
It is understood that Todd has jokingly referred to himself as Satoshi Nakamoto on multiple occasions, which some consider to be a reference to the movie “Gladiator” where soldiers shout, “I am Spartacus,” in an attempt to protect the real Spartacus.
Furthermore, according to Wired, Todd agreed to appear in the HBO documentary because he believed it was about Bitcoin history and not an attempt to uncover Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity. Todd emphasizes once again that his life has been endangered after being mistaken for Satoshi Nakamoto.
However, Cullen Hoback has a different perspective on this matter. He believes that Todd and others have overreacted to the conclusions and states that so far, the attempts to reveal Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity have not posed a substantial threat to those involved.
Although Cullen Hoback claims that Todd has not faced any substantial threats so far, the risk of being identified as Satoshi Nakamoto is indeed significant. According to statistics, there are currently around 1.1 million bitcoins (worth approximately $73.7 billion) in wallets associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. Faced with such a massive amount of assets, even if Todd is not the real Satoshi Nakamoto, there may still be individuals with malicious intent who approach him with the mentality of “just in case he really is Satoshi Nakamoto” and pose threats or even launch personal attacks against him.
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