Bitcoin creator allegedly unmasked in HBO documentary

Previous reports have suggested early Bitcoin enthusiasts Hal Finney, Nick Szabo and Adam Back as potential inventors of the cryptocurrency – in addition to other so-called “cypherpunks” who had been working on similar technology since the 1990s – although all have denied being Nakamoto.

Cryptocurrency wallets believed to belong to Nakamoto hold around 1m Bitcoin, worth more than $60bn (£46bn). Their contents have not been touched.

A 2014 Newsweek article identified Dorian Nakamoto, a Japanese American living in California, as the creator. However, he denied knowing anything about Bitcoin.

In 2016, Craig Wright, an Australian computer programmer, told the BBC he was the inventor of Bitcoin. Mr Wright later launched a series of lawsuits against rival cryptocurrency developers who challenged his claims, accusing them of defamation.

However, earlier this year, a High Court judge ruled Mr Wright was not Nakamoto and had instead “lied extensively and repeatedly” and committed “forgery on a grand scale” to back up his claim.

The claim that Mr Todd, who would have been 23 at the time of the creation of Bitcoin’s white paper, is Nakamoto was met with scepticism from cryptocurrency experts.

In the documentary, Mr Todd said the suggestion he was Nakamoto was “ludicrous”, before adding: “Yeah, yeah. Of course I am Satoshi Nakamoto, and I’m Craig Wright.”