Peter Todd forced into hiding after HBO documentary exposes him as SATOSHI NAKAMOTO: Bitcoin's Creator

[Mad Genius]

Canadian cryptographer and computer scientist Peter Todd says he’s been forced into hiding for fear of his safety after an HBO documentary supposedly outed him as the inventor of Bitcoin BTC $66,552.

The film, dubbed “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” aired on Oct. 9 and was purported to finally reveal the mystery surrounding the true identity of “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the pseudonym of a person thought to be the inventor of Bitcoin.

Ultimately, after exploring other potential candidates, the documentary ended on a dubious note with Todd stating “Well yeah, I’m Satoshi Nakamoto.”

Spartacus and Satoshi Nakamoto​

Todd has repeatedly denied that he is Satoshi Nakamoto and dismissed the film’s claims. According to a recent interview with Wired, he’s been forced into hiding over fears for his safety. He says filmmaker Cullen Hoback, the documentary’s director, used specious evidence to support the documentary’s erroneous conclusion.

However, according to several sources and footage shown in the documentary itself, Todd evidently has a history of jokingly stating “I am Satoshi.” These statements appear to have been made in the vein of the famous line “I am Spartacus” from the eponymous film.

In the 1960 action film “Spartacus,” a group of warriors are captured by Roman soldiers and offered mercy if they’ll identify and send forth the man known as Spartacus. In response, the warriors each claim, in turn, to be Spartacus as a sign of solidarity.

The dangers of being Satoshi​

According to Wired, Todd agreed to appear in the HBO documentary because he believed it was about the history of Bitcoin — as opposed to an attempted exposé. Todd says that not only has he been incorrectly identified as Nakamoto, but that his life is now in constant danger:

“Obviously, falsely claiming that ordinary people of ordinary wealth are extraordinarily rich exposes them to threats like robbery and kidnapping. Not only is the question dumb, it's dangerous. Satoshi obviously didn't want to be found, for good reasons, and no one should help people trying to find Satoshi.”

Related: Adam Back: Bitcoin’s value lies in its founder’s anonymity

However, Electric Money’s director seemingly takes a different view. Wired reports that Hoback claims Todd and others have blown things out of proportion and that the idea of outing Nakamoto has, so far, posed no real threat to those investigated.

“There’s potentially this anonymous figure out there who controls one-twentieth of the total supply of digital gold,” said Hoback. Adding that identifying this person “is pretty important.”

While both men appear to be sticking to their stories, the so-called reveal doesn’t appear to have convinced many within the cryptocurrency community that Todd is, in fact, Satoshi Nakamoto.

 

[Mad Genius]

Peter Todd Says Even Reports of His 'Going Into Hiding' Are Exaggerated​

Weeks after a widely panned HBO documentary claimed Todd is Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, Wired reported the former Core dev is avoiding the public eye. Yet he's speaking at conferences.​

By Shaurya Malwa

Oct 23, 2024 at 7:39 a.m. CDT
Updated Oct 23, 2024 at 5:23 p.m. CDT

• Wired reported that Peter Todd went into hiding due to an influx of financial requests and potential threats from those believing he possesses Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto's many-billion-dollar fortune, highlighting the real-world dangers of such public allegations.
• Todd tweeted, however, that Wired's claim is "exaggerated," offering as proof his appearance this week at a conference.
• A recent documentary by Cullen Hoback suggested Todd might be Nakamoto (something Todd denied).

Peter Todd, the Bitcoin developer alleged to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the network's pseudonymous creator in the hyped but panned HBO documentary, "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery," has "gone into hiding," Wired reported Tuesday.
Todd, who is quoted in the piece, called its central claim "exaggerated" in a post on X Wednesday, which quote-tweeted a picture of him speaking at an Atlanta conference earlier that day.

Todd was fingered as Nakamoto in the documentary shot by Cullen Hoback, who previously identified the face behind the QAnon conspiracy. Todd, however, denied being Nakamoto in an email to CoinDesk.

Hoback's supposed evidence for Todd, a Canadian, being Nakamoto was his interest in cryptography from a young age, his relationship with Adam Back (who actually emailed Nakamoto), his technical ability and Nakamoto's use of British/Canadian spellings.
The documentary provided its strongest clue through a 2010 public forum exchange where Todd seemed (to Hoback) to inadvertently reply to a post as himself instead of the mysterious Bitcoin creator, suggesting a potential slip-up. Hoback posited this as evidence that Todd might be Nakamoto, although the documentary stopped short of making a definitive claim.
The Bitcoin community has largely brushed off Hoback's findings. Hoback, however, told Wired he remains confident that Todd is indeed Nakamoto.
But the allegations have a serious real-world impact.
Todd told Wired that his email has become inundated with requests for financial help – but there's a threat of "continued harassment by crazy people."
Personal safety is a concern for Todd because criminals might believe he is Nakamoto: Wallets belonging to Nakamoto hold over 1 million BTC, worth more than $67 billion at recent prices. That puts the unknown persona on a list of the 25 wealthiest people in the world.
"Falsely claiming that ordinary people of ordinary wealth are extraordinarily rich exposes them to threats like robbery and kidnapping," Todd told Wired. "Not only is the question dumb, it's dangerous. Satoshi obviously didn't want to be found, for good reasons, and no one should help people trying to find Satoshi."

UPDATE (Oct 23, 2024, 22:16 UTC): Updates throughout to reflect that Todd is still speaking at conferences and called the Wired headline "exaggerated."
Edited by Parikshit Mishra, Marc Hochstein and Nick Baker.

 

[COINTELPRO]

You can get human trafficked over something like this, threatened to keep quiet while other people make billions. Especially in the United States. I see why he is hiding.

 

[Lexx Diamond]

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[playahaitian]

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Post of the night

 

[Tdot_firestarta]

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