HBO filmmaker believes he found bitcoins creator, whose identity has been unknown

The identity of bitcoin’s inventor has been a mystery, but the creator of a new HBO documentary believes he may have uncovered the person’s identity.Cullen Hoback believes he may have uncovered “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the alias that bitcoin’s inventor used online.Bitcoin’s inventor could personally control a cryptocurrency stash worth tens of billions of dollars, according to The Washington Post.His documentary, “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” premiered Tuesday on HBO.Hoback suggests that instead of a programming expert or criminal mastermind, the real Nakamoto is Peter Todd, a developer from Canada who would have been in college when the cryptocurrency was created.The filmmaker does not show indisputable proof linking Todd to the Satoshi Nakamoto alias in his documentary, but he does string together intriguing coincidences and forum posts to make the case that Todd is likely the person.“We’re making a very strong case,” Hoback told The Washington Post.

“And ultimately, I want to leave it up to the audience to draw their own conclusion.”Todd denied inventing bitcoin, and said Hoback and others seeking to uncover the identity of bitcoin’s founder should end their search.“Not only is the question dumb, it’s dangerous,” Todd told The Washington Post.“Satoshi obviously didn’t want to be found, for good reasons, and no one should help people trying to find Satoshi.”Nakamoto would be very wealthy if they still have access to the roughly 1 million bitcoins they obtained in the early days of cryptocurrencies, which would be worth about $65 billion, according to The Washington Post.

Nakamoto could become even more wealthy if bitcoin’s price continues to increase, which Hoback says is a reason it is important to reveal Nakamoto’s identity.“They’re on track to becoming the richest person on Earth eventually,” Hoback said.Todd told The Washington Post that due to Nakamoto’s potential wealth, Hoback’s claim that he is th...