Peter Todd (programmer)
Peter Todd | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Education | Ontario College of Art and Design |
| Occupation(s) | Cryptographer, software developer |
| Known for | Bitcoin development, cryptography |
| Notable work | OpenTimestamps |
| Website | https://petertodd.org/ |
Peter Todd is a Canadian cryptographer and software developer who was an early contributor to the development of Bitcoin.[1] Todd has been involved in cryptocurrency since the early 2010s and has worked on blockchain and privacy-focused projects.[2]
Biography
Peter Todd was born in Canada. When he was 15 years old he began communicating with cypherpunks like Adam Back and Hal Finney.[3] Before his career as a core developer, Peter Todd attended the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto.[3]
Identification with Satoshi Nakamoto
The 2024 HBO documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery by Cullen Hoback named Todd as Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Todd has publicly denied being Nakamoto, stating in the film that it was "ludicrous".[3][4]
The film notes that days after initially joining the Bitcoin forum in 2010 Todd corrects Nakamoto on a technicality in one of Satoshi's last posts, just an hour after the initial post was made; then disappears online alongside Satoshi. Todd claims a lack of involvement in Bitcoin development until two years later.[5] Hoback raises questions about whether this interaction suggests a deeper involvement much earlier, and whether Todd’s alleged history of using an alternate persona to create a “Replace by Fee” patch, indicates an MO to do the same when creating Bitcoin.[6][7] Hoback’s theory includes a range of circumstantial evidence including Todd’s alignment with Adam Back and Gregory Maxwell of Blockstream and their alignment with an alleged 2014 email from Satoshi’s address during the so-called block size war.[8][9]
In the film, Todd denied that he was Nakamoto, stating that it was "ludicrous" and "grasping at straws", and criticized Hoback by saying that it was "ironic that a director who is also known for a documentary on QAnon has resorted to QAnon style coincidence-based conspiracy thinking here too".[10][11]
References
- ^ "Peter Todd: I am not Bitcoin inventor, says man named in HBO film". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
- ^ "HBO Documentary Suggests Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Is Developer Peter Todd". Bloomberg.com. 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
- ^ a b c Kaminska, Izabella (2024-10-09). "Bitcoin creator is Peter Todd, HBO film says". POLITICO. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
- ^ "Peter Todd: I am not Bitcoin inventor, says man named in HBO film". BBC.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
- ^ "Mystery creator of Bitcoin identified, new HBO documentary claims". POLITICO. Oct 3, 2024. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved Oct 5, 2024.
- ^ Roose, Kevin; Newton, Casey (October 11, 2024). "A Flood of A.I. Slop, Searching for Satoshi, the Hot Mess Express Returns". Hard Fork Podcast. The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ Sarlin, Jon (2024-10-09). "'I am not Satoshi Nakamoto': Subject of HBO documentary denies he invented bitcoin | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ Dugan, Kevin T. (2024-10-08). "A Quest to Unmask Bitcoin Inventor Satoshi Nakamoto Finds a Man Named Peter Todd". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ Sarlin, Jon (2024-10-09). "'I am not Satoshi Nakamoto': Subject of HBO documentary denies he invented bitcoin | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ Roberts, Jeff John (October 9, 2024). "HBO doc reveals Bitcoin creator is Peter Todd—that's wrong but 'Money Electric' is still a good watch". Fortune Crypto. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Sarlin, Jon (9 October 2024). "'I am not Satoshi Nakamoto': Subject of HBO documentary denies he invented bitcoin | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-10-09.