Bitcoin Core former developer Peter Todd has been identified as the founder of Bitcoin, “Satoshi Nakamoto,” in the recent documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” by renowned documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback. However, Todd himself denies being Satoshi Nakamoto and claims that his life has been thrown into chaos and threatened due to being mistakenly identified by Hoback.
The documentary, which was released on HBO and MAX on October 9th, garnered significant attention from the cryptocurrency community as Hoback hinted that it might reveal the true identity of Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Following the release of the documentary, Hoback claimed that Peter Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto. However, Todd vehemently denies this accusation and told Coindesk that Hoback’s claims are baseless and that he has become Hoback’s scapegoat. Todd stated that he does not know who Satoshi Nakamoto is and criticized Hoback for adopting QAnon-style conspiracy theories.
Todd’s real-life has been threatened as a result of the documentary’s accusations. According to Cointelegraph, Todd revealed in an interview with Wired magazine that his life has been under threat due to the documentary’s false conclusions, forcing him to go into hiding.
Todd reiterated that Hoback’s conclusions were based on flimsy evidence. It is known that Todd had made jokes in the past claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, but these statements were considered to be imitating a scene from the movie “Gladiator” where warriors 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’s history rather than an attempt to uncover Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity. Todd emphasized that his life has been in danger since being mistaken for Satoshi Nakamoto.
However, Hoback disagrees with Todd’s reaction, stating that Todd and others have overreacted to the documentary’s conclusions. He also mentioned that so far, the attempts to reveal Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity have not posed any substantial threats to those involved.
Although Hoback claims that Todd has not faced any real threats, 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) associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. With such a massive fortune at stake, even if Todd is not the real Satoshi Nakamoto, there may still be individuals with ulterior motives who approach him, threaten him, or even launch personal attacks against him.
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