Prominent Bitcoin developer Peter Todd has denied creating Bitcoin in response to the HBO documentary that has identified him as Satoshi Nakamoto.
Todd also accused HBO and filmmaker Cullen Hoback of endangering his life with the irresponsible documentary.
The documentary has been widely criticized within the Bitcoin community due to its failure to present any compelling evidence that Todd is actually the creator of the leading cryptocurrency.
It mentioned Todd replying to Satoshi on the BitcoinTalk forum back in 2010. The documentary alleged that the Bitcoin developer accidentally posted from his own profile to continue Satoshi's post. Even though Hoback attempted to present this exchange as revealing, Todd was merely correcting Satoshi.
The documentary also included Todd's emails about electronic cash with Hal Finney, the recipient of the very first Bitcoin transaction, and the fact that he denied being skilled in C++ (despite his old resume showing otherwise).
Gamza KhanzadaevOn top of that, the film has pointed to leaked emails between Todd and John Dillon, a mysterious person seemingly linked to the U.S. intelligence community. The documentary argued that Todd was using the fake Dillon persona to implement a controversial Bitcoin upgrade.
Hoback's work has faced strong pushback from some members of the Bitcoin community. Ki Young Ju, CEO of analytics firm CryptoQuant, described the project as "disgusting," comparing it to a flat earth documentary that would not include opinions from reputed scientists.
However, the filmmaker has defended his project, arguing that it was "just presenting evidence" in an interview with CNN. He has also downplayed Todd's denial, claiming that he has some sort of "next-level game theory."
So far, the consensus seems to be that the big-budget documentary has nothing to offer, and Satoshi's identity remains an unsolved mystery.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team