HBO Joins Hunt for Mysterious Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto
HBO has joined the race in the ongoing manhunt for Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious identity behind the invention of Bitcoin, with its forthcoming documentary, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery. Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, directed by investigative filmmaker Cullen Hoback, is set to air this Tuesday. In an interview with CNN Business, Hoback says his film will unmask the person-or people-behind Bitcoin’s creation.
A New Attempt to Unmask Satoshi
The mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto has fascinated many since the creation of Bitcoin. Since then, many journalists and researchers have tried to unmask Satoshi, but to date, nobody has given a categorical answer. Other investigations in the past have pointed accusing fingers at several persons, but the leads always went cold.
It is into this curiosity that the HBO documentary taps into-as Hoback-this time around-famous for outing the leader behind the QAnon conspiracy in 2021-promises new light on Bitcoin’s mystery. Will Hoback succeed where all else has failed?
The Infamous Failures of the Past
Newsweek didn’t make the splashy claim of Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, an engineer of Japanese-American descent, as the man actually behind Bitcoin until 2014. Dorian Nakamoto has categorically denied the involvement, and in no time, that theory went down in tatters.
Next in line was Craig Wright, an Australian computer science personality who claimed in 2015 that he was Satoshi. Despite making the announcement to the world, Wright’s claim went down under in disarray, with the UK court finally laying it to rest with its decision in 2023: Wright was not the creator of Bitcoin.
Len Sassaman: The Latest Candidate?
The HBO documentary throws up another candidate: Len Sassaman, a brilliant cryptographer and one of the first cypherpunks, committed suicide in 2011. His death coincides with Satoshi Nakamoto’s last known online activity. Was Sassaman the real Satoshi? A growing number of crypto enthusiasts seem to believe so, though no concrete evidence has surfaced to confirm the theory.
Will We Ever Know Satoshi’s Identity?
While the new HBO documentary teases clues, the real Satoshi Nakamoto remains as mysterious as ever. Without any kind of smoking gun proof, such as the movement of the 1.1 million Bitcoins believed to belong to Satoshi, there will always be skepticism of any claim.
One thing is for certain: whether Satoshi is still alive and disinterested in self-disclosure, or Satoshi is an idea of a collective, the mystique of Satoshi Nakamoto continues to intrigue the world.
