THE LONG RUNNING MYSTERY OF WHO CREATED BITCOIN COULD FINALLY BE SOLVED.
AT LEAST, ACCORDING TO A NEW HBO DOCUMENTARY.
BUT THE PERSON NAMED IN THE FILM IS DENYING THE CLAIM.
“I’ve been told Satoshi was a group of people…
I have to be careful talking about that topic….
He checks a lot of boxes…
I will admit, you’re pretty creative. You come up with some crazy theories…”
WHO IS SATOSHI NAKAMOTO? THE ANONYMOUS FIGURE…OR GROUP OF FIGURES…BEHIND BITCOIN’S CREATION IN 2009 HAS REMAINED ONE OF THE MOST CLOSELY GUARDED SECRETS IN THE HISTORY OF CRYPTOCURRENCY.
THE DOCUMENTARY, ‘MONEY ELECTRIC: THE BITCOIN MYSTERY,’ CLAIMS TO HAVE THE ANSWER… A CANADIAN CRYPTO EXPERT NAMED PETER TODD. BUT TODD HAS FIRMLY DENIED BEING THE MYSTERIOUS SATOSHI, DISMISSING THE ALLEGATIONS ON X WITH LAUGHTER IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BIG REVEAL.
IN THE DOCUMENTARY, FILMMAKER CULLEN HOBACK PRESENTS WHAT HE SAYS IS YEARS OF RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE. HOBACK POINTS TO A FORUM POST FROM TODD THAT HE BELIEVES IS A CONTINUATION OF ONE MADE BY SATOSHI NAKAMOTO. HE ALSO HIGHLIGHTS A COMMENT TODD MADE ABOUT DESTROYING A LARGE NUMBER OF BITCOIN… A THEORY THAT ALIGNS WITH THE BELIEF THAT SATOSHI DELIBERATELY MADE HIS VAST FORTUNE INACCESSIBLE.
TODD, HOWEVER, WAS QUICK TO SHOOT DOWN THESE CLAIMS. ON SOCIAL MEDIA, HE RESPONDED SIMPLY: “I’M NOT SATOSHI.” HE FURTHER EXPLAINED THAT DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF BITCOIN, HE WAS TOO BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND WORK TO HAVE PLAYED ANY ROLE IN ITS CREATION. HE WENT FURTHER TO SAY THAT ACCUSATIONS LIKE THESE COULD POTENTIALLY BE DANGEROUS, OR LEAD TO UNWANTED FEDERAL ATTENTION.
TODD’S DENIAL HASN’T STOPPED THE INTRIGUE, THOUGH. IN FACT, MORE THAN 44-MILLION DOLLARS WERE BET ON CRYPTO MARKETS ABOUT WHO THE DOCUMENTARY WOULD NAME AS SATOSHI… REFLECTING THE ONGOING OBSESSION WITH UNMASKING BITCOIN’S CREATOR, WHOSE FORTUNE IS ESTIMATED TO BE WORTH 69-BILLION TODAY.
THE SEARCH FOR SATOSHI NAKAMOTO HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR YEARS, WITH MANY NAMES PUT FORWARD, ONLY TO BE DEBUNKED.
IN 2014, NEWSWEEK PROFILED DORIAN NAKAMOTO, A JAPANESE-AMERICAN MAN LIVING IN CALIFORNIA AS THE POTENTIAL CREATOR. BUT AFTER THE SPOTLIGHT WAS TURNED ON HIM, DORIAN VEHEMENTLY DENIED HAVING ANY CONNECTION TO BITCOIN, AND THAT THEORY QUICKLY FIZZLED OUT.
THE FOLLOWING YEAR, AUSTRALIAN COMPUTER SCIENTIST CRAIG WRIGHT CLAIMED TO BE SATOSHI, EVEN PRESENTING SUPPOSED PROOF TO MEDIA OUTLETS. BUT HIS EVIDENCE WAS WIDELY REJECTED, AND A UK HIGH COURT LATER RULED THAT THERE WAS “OVERWHELMING” EVIDENCE THAT HE WAS NOT THE CREATOR.
EVEN BILLIONAIRE ELON MUSK WAS RUMORED TO BE BEHIND THE CRYPTOCURRENCY, THOUGH HE QUICKLY DENIED THE THEORY AFTER IT WAS FLOATED BY A FORMER SPACEX EMPLOYEE.
SO, IS PETER TODD THE ELUSIVE CREATOR OF BITCOIN? HE SAYS NO… AND THERE’S NO CONCRETE PROOF TO SAY OTHERWISE. AND FOR MANY WITHIN THE BITCOIN COMMUNITY, THAT’S JUST FINE. SOME ARGUE THAT THE MYSTERY OF SATOSHI NAKAMOTO ADDS TO THE POWER OF THE CURRENCY ITSELF, REINFORCING ITS DECENTRALIZED NATURE.
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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M JACK AYLMER.
