Abstract: HBO's new documentary shows that the father of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, is likely to be Canadian software developer Peter Todd, denying the Nick Szabo theory proposed by Musk.

HBO's new documentary "Electronic Money: The Secret of Bitcoin" aired on Tuesday (October 8), revealing the true identity of Bitcoin's father Satoshi Nakamoto, who is likely Canadian software developer Peter Todd, denying the Nick Szabo theory proposed by billionaire Musk.

Bloomberg reported that HBO's new 100-minute documentary was released on Tuesday, interviewing people who were originally involved in Bitcoin development, including Todd, long-time Satoshi Nakamoto candidate Adam Back, investor Roger Ver and Bitcoin marketer Samson Mow.

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(Source: Bloomberg)

Producer Cullen Hoback used indirect evidence, such as posts on early Bitcoin forums, to determine that Todd might be Satoshi Nakamoto.

“It seemed like you had such a profound insight into Bitcoin at the time?” Hoback asks Todd at the end of the documentary. “Well, yes, I am Satoshi Nakamoto,” Todd responds.

This is the main reason why HBO identified Todd as Satoshi Nakamoto:

1. In 2010, Todd responded to Satoshi Nakamoto on bitcointalk using a new account, and HBO claimed that he accidentally completed Satoshi Nakamoto's post from his own account;

2. After a few days, both accounts became silent;

3. Todd later implemented the Replace-By-Fee (RBF) concept discussed in the post;

4. Claims that Todd used the pseudonym "John Dillon" to promote RBF;

5. Both RBF and RBF use British/Canadian spelling;

6. Satoshi’s posting schedule is consistent with the student schedule claimed by the documentary, with more posts on weekends. Todd has discussed “sacrificing” Bitcoin;

7. The document implies that this refers to the destruction of Satoshi Nakamoto’s tokens.

But when confronted, Todd shrugged and called the suggestion "ridiculous." Like several people in the documentary, Todd said at one point "I am Satoshi Nakamoto," but seemed to laugh off the idea.

Since the launch of Bitcoin in January 2009, people have been speculating on who Satoshi Nakamoto is, whether it is an individual or a group.

Since then, Bitcoin has quickly gone mainstream, appearing on the books of companies such as U.S.-listed MicroStrategy Inc. and as part of U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding billions of dollars worth of tokens.

Over the years, various publications have suggested that Satoshi Nakamoto could be a variety of people.

In 2014, Newsweek claimed he was physicist Dorian Nakamoto, a claim he denied, and in 2015, the New York Times pointed the finger at computer scientist Nick Szabo, whom Musk has also theorized is Satoshi Nakamoto.

Australian Craig Wright had claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto until a British judge ruled that he was not the creator of Bitcoin.

Todd is listed as an applied cryptography consultant on developer platform GitHub, which says he is based in Toronto. He is reportedly the "chief naysayer" at bitcoin security provider Coinkite, chief scientist at anonymous wallet service Dark Wallet and chief scientist at the Mastercoin project.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he graduated from Ontario University of Art and Design in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Media.

The Bitcoin white paper was released in 2008, and the Bitcoin network went live in 2009. For many years, Todd has been considered a possible candidate for Satoshi Nakamoto.

Although Satoshi Nakamoto has been missing since 2011, he or she is still important. Satoshi's wallet contains about 1 million bitcoins, which is worth about $62.4 billion at current prices.

Any move by the Bitcoin creator could cause the price to plummet, but the creator’s token has remained quiet for years.