Politico reported on Thursday (October 3) that a new HBO documentary claimed that the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the "father of Bitcoin," has been cracked, sparking heated debate and speculation in the market. This news may have an impact on the cryptocurrency market and other fields.

The documentary is the latest work from Emmy nominee Cullen Hoback, who received acclaim for his series “Q: Into the Storm” exposing the author of the QAnon conspiracy theory. The blockbuster will air next Wednesday at 2am CET and Tuesday at 9pm ET.

HBO released a trailer for the documentary on Thursday, CryptoSlate reports, revealing interviews and research clips with some of Bitcoin’s earliest adopters, including Blockstream founder Adam Back and JAN3 CEO Samson Mow.

It’s worth noting that the trailer doesn’t explicitly claim to have found the answer to the “Satoshi Mystery of the Century,” which many believe will remain unsolved. However, Politico reported that the documentary revealed the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

According to the Politico article, the documentary confirms the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto and may reveal the connection between the founder of Bitcoin and criminal activities. Although the documentary has not yet been broadcast, Politico's report has sparked heated debate and speculation in the industry.

The main candidates in the current speculation and discussion about this documentary are Len Sassaman, Hal Finney and Adam Back, who the community has previously speculated to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

Back has consistently denied these claims and has maintained that he is not the original creator of Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Sassaman and Finney died more than a decade ago, and despite their early involvement in Bitcoin, there is no hard evidence that either of them is Satoshi Nakamoto.

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, weighed in on the speculation, arguing that if the documentary identified Sassaman as Satoshi Nakamoto, it could alleviate concerns about his large holdings and minimize market disruption.

“If this is the person mentioned in the document, then this should be neutral to positive for Bitcoin given that Sassaman went to the board in 2011,” he wrote.

Writer Evan Hatch, who explored the theory in 2021 that Sassaman might be Satoshi Nakamoto, acknowledged his involvement in a previous documentary that also explored the cryptographer's potential connection to the creation of Bitcoin.

However, Hatch and others in the community are cautious about the latest claims until the documentary airs and provides more concrete details.

Politico’s report received strong backlash from the crypto community, particularly from Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz, who criticized the article’s framing of Bitcoin’s history and its association of Bitcoin with criminal activity.

Mumtaz expressed frustration with the tone of the report, writing: “In the first paragraph they try to frame this as something against Trump and Musk because check records show Bitcoin has been used for crimes before.”

Mumtaz decried the idea that Satoshi Nakamoto could be responsible for crimes fueled by Bitcoin, arguing that fiat currencies are also used for illegal transactions but are not subject to the same level of scrutiny.

He said, “Why don’t you just arrest every government on the planet that issues cash?”

Many in the crypto community have similar frustrations with traditional media, which they believe often emphasizes Bitcoin’s links to illicit activity while downplaying its revolutionary impact on the financial system.

As the release date of the HBO documentary approaches, the sense of anticipation is building. The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has long been one of the biggest mysteries in the cryptocurrency world, and the new claims, regardless of their authenticity, have reignited widespread curiosity.