Peter Todd forced into hiding after HBO’s ‘Satoshi’ film

Peter Todd, a Canadian cryptographer and developer recently featured in the HBO documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, has reportedly been forced into hiding after the film identified him as the creator of Bitcoin, or Satoshi Nakamoto.

The documentary, which aired on Oct. 9, generated significant hype leading up to its premiere, with the film concluding that Todd was the mysterious figure behind Bitcoin’s creation. However, Todd swiftly refuted the claims, stating that he is not Satoshi. Following the documentary’s airing, Todd has faced harassment, including people asking for money and one individual sending 25 emails requesting funds to pay off a loan. According to Wired, Todd is now hiding due to safety concerns arising from the film’s conclusions.

Todd expressed his frustration in an interview with Wired, emphasizing that falsely claiming someone is extraordinarily wealthy can lead to dangerous consequences, including threats like robbery and kidnapping. He also pointed out that Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, clearly intended to remain anonymous, and it was harmful to bring attention to someone who is not the real Satoshi.

While Todd denies the claims, documentary maker Cullen Hoback defended his film, insisting that there is a strong case for his conclusions about Todd’s involvement in Bitcoin’s creation. Despite this, the cryptography community and the wider public have long been fascinated by the mystery of Satoshi’s identity, and Todd is not the only individual to have been “identified” as Bitcoin’s creator. Other figures, including Blockstream founder Adam Back, cryptographers Len Sassaman and Nick Szabo, and even Hal Finney, who received the first Bitcoin transaction, have also been speculated to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

In March 2024, a UK court ruled that Australian computer scientist Craig Wright is not Satoshi, adding further complexity to the ongoing search for the true identity of Bitcoin’s creator.