The identity of Bitcoin's creator, "Satoshi Nakamoto," has always been an enigma.

On the morning of October 9th Beijing time, HBO's latest documentary, "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery," directed by Cullen Hoback, was released. In the film, Hoback identifies the documentary's protagonist, Canadian software developer Peter Todd, as "Satoshi Nakamoto," sparking heated discussions within the cryptocurrency community.

In response to this, Peter Todd exclusively told a reporter from "Daily Economic News" on October 10th that he is not "Satoshi Nakamoto," and that Hoback's identification is merely a ploy to attract attention to the Bitcoin documentary.

Furthermore, Peter Todd emphasized his concerns about personal safety during the interview. He stated, "Being falsely accused by (Cullen Hoback) of possessing billions of dollars poses a risk to me." However, he has not yet decided whether to take legal action to protect his interests.

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With the release of the HBO documentary, trading on the cryptocurrency betting website Polymarket regarding the founder's identity has become unusually active. Reporters from "Daily Economic News" have noticed that currently, 60-year-old American computer scientist and cryptographer Nick Szabo has become the most likely candidate to be "Satoshi Nakamoto," with a probability of 12.8%. He proposed the concept of a "decentralized" currency a decade before the birth of Bitcoin.

Analysis suggests that the identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto" involves legal issues. If his identity were to be revealed, various governments or regulatory bodies might attempt to engage in dialogue with him to discuss the legal status of Bitcoin, taxation, and its role in the global financial system.

Documentary director drops a bombshell!

The person involved responds: I am not "Satoshi Nakamoto"

In the 100-minute documentary "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery," director Cullen Hoback interviews several early figures in the Bitcoin field to delve into the origins of Bitcoin and the identity of its creator, "Satoshi Nakamoto."

As a conclusion, Hoback implies in the film that the true identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto" is Canadian software developer and cryptocurrency expert Peter Todd, causing a stir in public opinion."(Todd) The reason for using the name 'Satoshi Nakamoto' to remain anonymous is that he wanted people to take Bitcoin seriously and to believe it was created by a renowned cryptographer, not some kid still in school," Hobeck said in the documentary.

Hobeck stated that he spent several years investigating various information about the identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto," ultimately concluding that "Satoshi Nakamoto" is Todd. He cited a Bitcoin forum post by Todd in 2010 as evidence, attributing it to "Satoshi Nakamoto."

In response to Hobeck's claims, Todd exclusively responded to a reporter from Daily Economic News on October 10th, emphasizing that he is not "Satoshi Nakamoto" and that the so-called "evidence" mentioned by Hobeck is fake.

For example, Hobeck mentioned that "Todd accidentally replied to himself using the identity of 'Satoshi Nakamoto,' thereby exposing himself." In response, Todd said, "If I really were 'Satoshi Nakamoto,' the simplest thing I could have done after being exposed would be to simply abandon that account, rather than renaming it to my real name."

Todd analyzed to the reporter, "I think Hobeck's identification of me as 'Satoshi Nakamoto' is just a way to attract attention to his documentary."

He further mentioned, "During the documentary production process, Karen interviewed him 4 to 5 times, for several hours. Until the last interview, he did not give the impression of trying to find 'Satoshi Nakamoto.' He just introduced that he was trying to make a documentary about Bitcoin itself."

Regarding Hobeck's identification, Todd also emphasized to the reporter his concerns about his personal safety. He stated, "Being (wrongfully) accused by (Hobeck) of possessing billions of dollars would put me at risk, as criminals would attempt to steal this wealth." However, he has not yet decided whether he will take legal action.

At the end of the interview, he once again emphasized to the reporter, "There's really nothing more to say, I am not 'Satoshi Nakamoto.'"

Hobeck, in an interview with foreign media, said he was not surprised that Todd would deny being Satoshi Nakamoto: "Todd was present that day (and was interviewed), he knew what we discussed, and (if he were not 'Satoshi Nakamoto') he would have had every opportunity to explain on the spot."

It is known that Todd is a core Bitcoin developer and cryptography expert, known for his contributions to the privacy, security, and scalability of the Bitcoin network, and holds an important position in the blockchain technology and Bitcoin development community.Todd has been involved in several improvement projects of the Bitcoin protocol, especially in the areas of consensus protocols and transaction privacy. His views on Bitcoin and blockchain technology are more pragmatic and conservative, often emphasizing the core principles of network security and decentralization.

Who is "Satoshi Nakamoto"?

Everyday reporters have noticed that in 2008, "Satoshi Nakamoto," who claimed to be of Japanese-American descent, published a white paper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System," in which he detailed how to use a peer-to-peer network to create an "electronic transaction system that does not rely on trust." In January of the following year, the Bitcoin network went live.

By 2013, the price of Bitcoin experienced a historic year. However, in the same year, "Satoshi Nakamoto" mysteriously disappeared from the internet. To this day, the true identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto" remains a mystery. In his communications with the Bitcoin community, "Satoshi Nakamoto" provided very limited personal information, only stating that he was a Japanese-American living in Japan, born on April 5, 1975.

As of press time, the price of Bitcoin has risen from an initial $0.0008 to over $60,000, an appreciation of 76 million times, with a current total market value of $1.2 trillion. There are reports that "Satoshi Nakamoto" still holds about 1.1 million Bitcoins, which is $68 billion (approximately 481.5 billion yuan).

In addition to Todd, who was revealed by an HBO documentary director, there are other speculations about the identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto."

Everyday Economic News reporters have noticed that before the betting on the identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto" on the crypto-betting website Polymarket was closed, 60-year-old American computer scientist and cryptographer Nick Szabo surpassed HBO documentary producer Len Sassaman to become the most popular candidate considered to be "Satoshi Nakamoto," with a probability of 12.8%.

It is reported that since the early 1990s, Nick Szabo has made significant contributions to the blockchain field. In 1998, he proposed a new form of currency called "Bit Gold," claiming that it was "fully digital and solved the double-spending problem through proof of work." This theory predates the birth of Bitcoin by a full decade.

In addition to this, it is believed by some that Nick Szabo's writing style and approach in his work "Bitcoin: The Future of Money?" are highly similar to that of "Satoshi Nakamoto," and both have cited the economist Carl Menger. However, Szabo has denied the rumors.

According to foreign media reports, if the true identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto" is confirmed, this discovery would be equivalent to solving the biggest mystery on the internet in nearly a decade. "His" invention of the Bitcoin network has sparked a digital currency craze worth billions of dollars worldwide, a frenzy that has driven changes in the global financial sector but has also led to widespread fraud and other illegal activities.However, another bet on Polymarket indicates that there is a 96% chance that the identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto" will not be confirmed within the year 2024.

Analysis points out that the identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto" involves legal issues. If his identity is revealed, there may be governments or regulatory agencies from various countries attempting to engage in dialogue with him to discuss the legal status of Bitcoin, taxation, and its role in the global financial system.

Additionally, as a symbol of decentralization and personal privacy, "Satoshi Nakamoto's" anonymous identity represents an ideology. If his identity is revealed, it may weaken this symbol.