HBO documentary claims Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto is Peter Todd, causing controversy

- Peter Todd claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto - Documentary Criticized by Crypto Community [Unblock Media] HBO's documentary "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery" sparked significant controversy by claiming that Peter Todd, an early Bitcoin developer, is the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. Todd immediately denied these assertions, but the documentary's content caused a considerable stir within the community. The two-hour long documentary examined various interviews and clues, ultimately pointing to Peter Todd. In the final part of the documentary, there’s a conversation between Todd and director Cullen Hoback where Todd momentarily admits to being Nakamoto before denying it again. Following the airing of the documentary, many crypto enthusiasts criticized the insufficient and poorly constructed evidence used to identify Todd as Nakamoto. Additionally, some argued that the documentary invaded Todd's privacy and speculated it was crafted merely to garner attention. The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has been a hotly debated topic since the disappearance of the Bitcoin founder in December 2010. If Nakamoto is still alive, it is estimated that they could control approximately 1.1 million Bitcoins, amounting to about $69.4 billion, which could cause massive disruption in the entire crypto market. Should these many Bitcoins be released into the market at once, it could cause a sharp decline in Bitcoin prices, negatively impacting other cryptocurrencies as well. Thus, even a rumor about the movement of Nakamoto's Bitcoins can induce significant market uncertainty. Following the release of "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery," over $20 million in trading volume was recorded on the decentralized prediction platform, Polymarket, where users predicted the individual the documentary would identify as Nakamoto. Major candidates included Len Sassaman, Nick Szabo, Adam Back, and David Kleiman, with many users placing more bets on these candidates rather than Todd, due to the lack of compelling evidence linking Todd to Nakamoto. The Bitcoin community has criticized the identification of Peter Todd as Satoshi for "insufficient evidence." There was significant debate regarding the differences in coding style and philosophical approach between Todd and Satoshi. Satoshi was meticulous about maintaining anonymity during the early stages of Bitcoin development, whereas Todd has been a relatively public figure within the community, leading to widespread skepticism about him being Satoshi. Villem Schroë, CEO, and founder of Botanix Labs, stated, "It's remarkable that Satoshi has remained anonymous for over 15 years," and added, "Despite global efforts to uncover Satoshi's identity, it's highly likely Satoshi was a solitary individual." Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin by releasing a whitepaper following the 2008 financial crisis. Bitcoin is built on blockchain technology, which ensures continuous transparency and security through a public ledger. Initially, Bitcoin had no monetary value, but some enthusiasts recognized its potential as a decentralized digital currency. Today, Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency by market cap, exceeding a market cap of $1.2 trillion as of Tuesday. Bitcoin was traded at around $62,000 on Tuesday.