It’sbeenaneventfulmonthforlongtimeBitcoinCoredeveloperPeterTodd,whowasrecentlyaccusedofbeingpseudonymousBitcoincreatorSatoshiNakamotoinanewHBOdocumentary.
Despitevigorouslydenyingtheclaims,bothon-camera,andoff,ToddtoldDecryptonFridaythatbeingpubliclybrandedastheelusivegeniussittingon$74.4billionworthofBitcoinhasforcedhimtogoevenfurthertodefendhimself.
“Ihavetakensomesecuritymeasures,”Toddsaid.“Butit’snotagoodideatosayexactlywhatI’vedonepublicly.Besttokeepthebadguysguessing.”
TheearlyBitcoincontributoradded,however,thatheiscertainlynotinhiding,norhashebeen,asarecentWiredstorysuggested.Infact,ToddattendedaBitcoinconferenceinLugano,Switzerland—whereastatueinhonorofNakamotowasunveiled—todayandsaysheplanstospeakatfivemoreeventsaroundtheworldinthecomingweeks.
TherecentWiredarticleclaimingI\'m\"inhiding\"wasquitetheexaggeration...https://t.co/pQEtUG9K1H
—PeterTodd(@peterktodd)October23,2024
Allinall—andperhapssurprisingly—Toddsayshehasn’tyetbeenspottedorbadgeredinpublicbyanyonewho’srecognizedhimfromtheHBOdocumentaryinwhichheappears,“MoneyElectric:TheBitcoinMystery.”
“Onethingthatprobablyhelpedthatwasrefusingtodoanyaudio/videointerviewswithanyofthe(many)journalistswhoaskedmeto,”Toddsaidviaemail.
Toddis,itshouldbenoted,nostrangertopublicscrutiny.Thoughthisiscertainlythemostattentionhe’severreceivedasapotentialSatoshicandidate,theblockchaindeveloperwasinvolvedwithBitcoinfromitsinfancyandhasbeenpreviouslyfloatedaspotentiallyresponsibleforsecretlycreatingtheworld’sfirstcryptocurrency.
CullenHoback,thedirectorof“MoneyElectric,”arguedinhisfilmthatseveralpiecesofcircumstantialevidencepointedtoTodd’sidentityasSatoshi,includingallegedsimilaritiesbetweenbothindividuals’writingstyles.HobackassertedthatTodd’sexperimentsasateenagerwiththeconceptofdigitalcurrencywereespeciallysuspicious,aswasablogpostToddauthoredthatHobackclaimswasaccidentallymadeonthewrongaccount—andshouldhavebeenpostedbySatoshi.
Manyinthecryptocommunity,however,weren’tconvincedbythosearguments.WhenToddwaspresentedwiththembyHobackattheclimaxofthedocumentary,heimmediatelydismissedthemas“ludicrous.”
AfterTodddeflectedclaimsthathewasinhidingthisweek,HobacktooktoTwittertoarguethateventhatassertionrevealedthedeveloper\'shidden,Machiavellianscheming.
\"PeterToddtellsWiredhe\'sgoneintohiding,\"Hobackposted.\"ThenhemocksWiredforrunningwiththisnarrative,makinganappearancetodayonstage.\"
\"Asitsauthordeftlywrote,\"Hobackcontinued,quotingtheWiredpiece.\"\'JustasTodd\'s\'trolling\'insulateshim,italsoexposeshim.\'\"
EditedbyAndrewHayward
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