SoylentNews

Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/peter-todd-in-hiding-after-being-unmasked-as-bitcoin-creator/ [arstechnica.com]

When Canadian developer Peter Todd found out that a new HBO documentary, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, was set to identify him as Satoshi Nakamoto [wired.com], the creator of Bitcoin, he was mostly just pissed. “This was clearly going to be a circus,” Todd told WIRED in an email.
[...]
trove of bitcoin Satoshi is widely believed to have controlled, suspected to be worth many billions of dollars [bitmex.com] today. When the documentary was released on October 8, Todd joined a long line of alleged Satoshis.
[...]
Since the documentary aired, Todd has repeatedly and categorically denied that he created Bitcoin: “For the record, I am not Satoshi,” he alleges. “I think Cullen made the Satoshi accusation for marketing. He needed a way to get attention for his film.”
[...]
The search for the creator of Bitcoin has dragged into its orbit a colorful cast of characters, among them Hal Finney, recipient of the first ever bitcoin transaction; Adam Back, designer of a precursor technology cited in the Bitcoin white paper; and cryptographer Nick Szabo, to name just a few. Journalists at Newsweek [newsweek.com], The New York Times [nytimes.com], and WIRED [wired.com], among others, have all taken stabs at solving the Satoshi riddle. But irrefutable proof has never been unearthed.
[...]
The case for Sassaman was first outlined in 2021 [medium.com] by Evan Hatch, founder of crypto gaming platform Worlds. Whenever speculation about Sassaman bubbles periodically to the surface, the spotlight is thrown on his widow, software developer Meredith Patterson, who believes the theory is unfounded.

“People used to be really fucking nosy and entitled. I’d get people writing me with a two-page list of dates and locations, asking where I was at such and such a time or place,” says Patterson. “Where do you get off? A complete stranger walking up to a widow and trying to interrogate her. It’s like, fuck off Sergeant Joe Friday.”
[...]
“I was relieved for myself and my family that they named Peter Todd,” says Patterson. “But I feel sorry for Peter Todd. Frankly, nobody deserves getting a target painted on their back.”
[...]
Todd expects that “continued harassment by crazy people” will become the indefinite status quo. But he says the potential personal safety implications are his chief concern—and the reason he has gone into hiding.
[...]
Hoback sees things very differently. Though there have been cases where violent extortionists have targeted crypto holders [wired.com], plenty of people have been unmasked as Satoshi before—and nothing terrible is known to have happened to them, he argues. “I think the idea that it puts their life [at risk] is a little overblown,” says Hoback.
[...]
The main evidence presented by Hoback in support of the theory that Todd created Bitcoin is a forum thread from December 2010 in which Todd appears to be “finishing Satoshi’s sentences,” as Hoback puts it. The topic of that thread—a way to prioritize transactions based on the fee paid—is something Todd would later go on to build into Bitcoin as a contributing developer, responding to a request posted by another forum user, John Dillon, whom Hoback alleges to be another of Todd’s alter egos.
[...]
It was Todd’s reaction to being confronted with the theory that ultimately solidified Hoback’s conviction in the conclusion he had reached. “The end scene is really about his body language—his expressions. Were you ever caught in a lie? That’s what Peter’s reaction reads like to me,” says Hoback.
[...]
“[Todd] throws so much shit at the wall that nothing sticks,” alleges Hoback. “It's a pretty effective technique—it's hard to pin down someone who's a contrarian and constantly makes opposite statements.” (Todd rejects Hoback's assessment as “wooly conspiracy thinking.”)
[...]
“If you assume a sophisticated enough Satoshi, practically any theory is possible,” says Todd. “It's a useless question, because Satoshi would simply deny it.”

Previously on SoylentNews: (Hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto.)
Blogger Claims NSA Knows Who Satoshi Is/Are [soylentnews.org] - 20170901
Former Bitcoin Developer Shares Early Satoshi Nakamoto Emails [soylentnews.org] - 20170813
Craig Wright Revealed As Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto [soylentnews.org] - 20160502
Cornell Prof: How to Find Satoshi Nakamoto [soylentnews.org] - 20151212
Wired and Gizmodo "Out" Possible Bitcoin Inventor, Who is then Raided Over "Unrelated" Matter [soylentnews.org] - 20151210
Bitcoin Inventor Satoshi Nakamoto Nominated for Nobel Prize [soylentnews.org] - 20151108
Decoding the Enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto [soylentnews.org] - 20150517
"The Man Behind Bitcoin Has Been Found" - Newsweek [soylentnews.org] - 20140306

Previously on SoylentNews: (Bitcoin in General)
How A 27-Year-Old Busted The Myth Of Bitcoin’s Anonymity [soylentnews.org] - 20240118
The Kingdom of Bhutan Has Been Quietly Mining Bitcoin for Years [soylentnews.org] - 20230501
Key Bitcoin Developer Calls on FBI to Recover $3.6M in Digital Coin [soylentnews.org] - 20230109
US Government Seizes $3.6 Billion in Bitcoin Tied to 2016 Hack of Crypto Exchange Bitfinex [soylentnews.org] - 20220210
Nvidia's Anti-Cryptomining GPUs Have Finally Been 100% Unlocked [soylentnews.org] - 20220509
Almost All Cryptocurrencies Hammered in Bloodbath [soylentnews.org] - 20210609
EPFL Researchers Invent Low-Cost Alternative to Bitcoin [soylentnews.org] - 20190930
A 'Blockchain Bandit' Is Guessing Private Keys And Scoring Millions [soylentnews.org] - 20190425
Digital Exchange Loses $137M as Founder Takes Passwords to the Grave [soylentnews.org] - 20190204
Blockchain: What's Not To Like? [soylentnews.org] - 20181212
Bitcoin’s Earliest Adopter Is Cryonically Freezing His Body To See The Future [soylentnews.org] - 20140829

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