Who is Peter Todd? In the new HBO doc “Money Electric,” Peter Todd, a key Bitcoin developer, is identified as Satoshi Nakamoto.
Todd, pictured above, is exactly what you might expect Satoshi to look like. To quote a Weird Al song: “White & Nerdy.”
So, who is this enigmatic Bitcoin developer, and what proof does the documentary offer that he was the secretive creator of Bitcoin?
Who is Peter Todd, the Alleged Creator of Bitcoin?
Let’s talk about the documentary first.
After making waves with his QAnon investigation, Cullen Hoback’s latest directorial effort feels underwhelming.
Instead of delving into Satoshi’s mystery, the documentary skims through crypto’s evolution from Bitcoin to Ethereum, altcoins, El Salvador, and the saga of FTX.
The documentary interviews early Bitcoin supporters like Adam Back, Samson Mow, and Peter Todd. However, it does not include Nick Szabo, Craig Wright, or, of course, Hal Finney, who received the first Bitcoin transaction but passed away in 2014, the same year as Satoshi’s last post.
After one hour, the documentary finally starts to look for Satoshi. Originally, it frames Adam Back, the CEO of Blockstream and an early Bitcoin developer, as Satoshi until the very end.
Hoback then uncovers a link to Todd, finding that he may have accidentally extended Satoshi’s thoughts on a forum using an alt account.
Todd also had a perfect alibi and excuse at the tip of his tongue when the interviewer mentioned it. Some are arguing that there’s no reason for this unless you’re a paranoid schizo or actually Satoshi.
So, Peter Todd might be Satoshi Nakamoto… pic.twitter.com/dBqkKrW2Qq
— felipe (@robayofelipe) October 9, 2024
The film suggests that Todd’s ideas flow seamlessly from Satoshi’s original comment (pictured above), echoing the same style of prose.
You can see the evidence here.
Moreover, Peter joined the forum just two days earlier, making this the second post he had ever done. Why would Todd participate if he wasn’t already connected to Bitcoin?
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So, Is Todd Satoshi Nakamoto?
There are reasons to doubt Todd is Satoshi: 1) Tech communities thrive on collaboration, making exchanges like this with Satoshi typical. 2) The film frames Todd’s response as “super technical” when anyone in the BTC community at the time could understand Satoshi’s point. 3). As pointed out in the Bitcoin Subreddit, while many developers are extraordinarily talented, their social shortcomings, like how they talk online, make them easy prey for the media.
The ending may be the film’s best part; Hoback challenges Todd directly, alleging he’s Satoshi, while Todd laughs uncontrollably.
I like Peter Todd. I wish he was Satoshi. But this is just sloppy joirnalism. pic.twitter.com/q2CEuhRLvh
— Beanie (@beaniemaxi) October 9, 2024
With all that said, it’s hard to ignore the rhythm of Peter Todd’s 2010 comments in that Bitcoin forum. However, we at 99Bitcoins do not think Peter Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto. Maybe there’s a chance he knows who he is… we’ll be sure to ask him.
Ultimately, this film is only good to show someone who is an absolute beginner to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
It does not prove who Satoshi Nakamoto is beyond a shadow of a doubt, as we predicted.
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Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
