Peter Todd categorically denies being Satoshi amid HBO documentary speculation

The airing of an HBO documentary in fall 2024 rekindled a question that has haunted the Bitcoin community for years: who is really Satoshi Nakamoto? On this occasion, the filmmakers pointed to developer Peter Todd as the possible anonymous creator, but he responded with a firm denial accompanied by irony. Through emails to specialized media, Peter Todd categorically dismissed the theory, calling it baseless speculation.

Filmmaker Cullen Hoback, who previously gained notoriety for documenting conspiracy theories, directed this investigation that suggested Peter Todd was deliberately hiding his role in the invention of Bitcoin. Todd responded by highlighting the parallel: a director known for covering QAnon was now resorting to “a QAnon-style conspiracy theory” to justify his conclusions. The irony did not go unnoticed in cryptography circles.

The “circumstantial” evidence linking Peter Todd to the Satoshi mystery

The approximately 100-minute documentary wove a narrative based on coincidences and tangential details. The production team highlighted that Peter Todd showed early interest in cryptography, maintained professional relationships with Adam Back (who exchanged messages with Satoshi), and demonstrated exceptional technical skills. Additionally, they observed that Satoshi used British-Canadian spellings, while Peter Todd is Canadian.

However, the film did not present conclusive proof. The strongest evidence they provided was a response from Peter Todd on a public forum in 2010 to a comment from Satoshi. Hoback argued that it was an accidental continuation posted from Peter Todd’s account rather than Satoshi’s. Although it suggests a pattern, it remains speculative. Even the director acknowledged that his reasoning was based on weak clues, not verifiable facts.

An additional point Hoback emphasized was an article where Peter Todd described himself as “probably the world’s leading expert” in Bitcoin destruction, though the filmmaker himself admitted this was a “tenuous confirmation at best.” Finally, he mentioned that the bitcoins mined by Satoshi have never been moved, fueling speculation about whether the creator is dead or deliberately avoiding touching those coins.

The face-to-face encounter: when Peter Todd responds with satire

The most memorable moment of the documentary was the direct confrontation between Hoback and Peter Todd. When the filmmaker presented his full theory, Peter Todd responded with visible disbelief. He shook his head, laughed, and called the reasoning “absurd” and “extreme creativity.”

In an ironic twist, Peter Todd used satire as a response tool. “I admit you’re quite creative. You come up with crazy theories. It’s absurd,” he said. He then added sarcastically: “Of course I’m Satoshi. And I’m also Craig Wright.” This last reference was particularly biting, considering Craig Wright is widely ridiculed in the community for his false claims of being Satoshi.

This was not his first use of sarcasm on the topic. In previous 2019 interviews with specialized podcasts, Peter Todd had already joked that he was “Satoshi, like everyone else.” To the director, he warned with a smile: “This will be very funny when you include it in the documentary. I suspect many Bitcoiners will be happy if you follow this path, because it’s another perfect example of how journalists don’t get the irony.”

Peter Todd’s prediction proved accurate. When the documentary was screened in public spaces within the crypto community, such as the PubKey bar in New York, viewers laughed at the suggestion. Some commented ironically that the director “left enough plausible arguments to show that almost anyone could be Satoshi.”

A betting market reflects the community’s skepticism

The prediction platform Polymarket captured the sentiment of market participants. Hours before the documentary’s release, bets on who would be identified as Satoshi showed a revealing landscape. The “Other/Multiple” option led preferences, reflecting widespread skepticism about any definitive conclusion. Significantly, Peter Todd was not even listed as a separate category in the initial bets, requiring interested bettors to choose the generic option.

Historically, figures most speculated to be Satoshi include Hal Finney, Nick Szabo, and Adam Back. All have categorically denied being the creator, just as Peter Todd has now.

Satoshi: the identity that resists being uncovered

Previous media attempts to unveil Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity have left a record of notable failures. The media have incorrectly identified figures such as programmer Dorian Nakamoto (who only shared the surname) and Craig Wright (who was later legally compelled to publicly admit he is not Satoshi).

These precedents underscore why the Bitcoin community remains skeptical. The search for Satoshi has become an exercise in speculation fueled by coincidences, forensic analysis of writing and behavior, but rarely by solid evidence. Peter Todd embodies this dynamic: his technical skills, his history in the ecosystem, his professional connections, and even his geographic origin make him a convenient “suspect,” but concrete data are absent.

As Adam Back, leader of Blockstream who appeared alongside Peter Todd in the documentary scene, pointed out: those betting in these markets should keep in mind that probably no one truly knows who Satoshi is, so any speculative conclusions should be treated with extreme caution.

The reality is that Satoshi Nakamoto, whether an individual, a collective, or simply a functional legend of the Bitcoin universe, has managed to remain anonymous for over a decade and a half, resisting every attempt at revelation with the same consistency that Peter Todd resisted the claims made in the documentary.