Satoshi Nakamoto Unmasked? New Documentary Claims to Reveal ‘Bitcoin Mystery’

An upcoming HBO documentary promising new details about the identity of pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto has caused a stir on Crypto Twitter, where industry veterans are excitedly speculating as to who the film might claim invented the world’s first cryptocurrency. 

The documentary, “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” will delve into the still-contentious question of who really invented Bitcoin, whether they did so alone or with help, and the significant impact that their work has since had on the global economy. The film is directed by Cullen Hoback, and was executive produced by “The Big Short” director Adam McKay, among others. 

A trailer released for “Money Electric” on Thursday focuses heavily on interviews with Adam Back, a British cypherpunk and cryptographer who was one of the first recipients of emails from Satoshi Nakamoto back in 2009. While Back has long been considered a potential Satoshi candidate, he has adamantly denied that he created Bitcoin; a trove of emails between Back and Satoshi made public in February appears to back up that assertion.

On Twitter, longtime Bitcoin users exchanged rumors as to who the documentary might out as Satoshi. The Bitcoin creator never made their identity known, and went radio silent in 2011. 

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy, claimed he heard that the film identifies Len Sassaman as Satoshi. Sassaman, an American cryptographer, contributed to the cypherpunk mailing list where Satoshi first announced Bitcoin. Sassaman committed suicide in July 2011, and has long been considered a viable candidate for Satoshi. 

In a darkly pragmatic (but largely unsurprising) turn, most of the speculation online about the documentary’s potential to unveil Satoshi’s identity has revolved around whether whoever the film identifies—if anyone—is still alive. Wallets connected to Satoshi still hold some 1.1 million BTC—worth nearly $67 billion at writing.

While those funds have never been moved, it may cause some panic in the Bitcoin market if such a sizable portion of the token’s total supply is revealed to be in the control of a single person who is still alive. 

Is Bitcoin therefore doomed? Tune in to streaming service Max on October 8 to find out… maybe.

Edited by Andrew Hayward