HBO says it has solved the biggest Bitcoin mystery

Since Bitcoin's launch in 2009, no one has managed to decipher the identity of its founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. Now, in 2024, a new HBO documentary claims to have done just that with the help of a director who has explored the impossible before.

Before documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback helmed the upcoming film “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” he gained fame by investigating the authors behind the QAnon conspiracy theory in another HBO series. Whether his new film succeeds in providing definitive proof where other attempts have failed remains to be seen when it premieres on Tuesday – but either way, it could have a big impact on the price of Bitcoin.

Interestingly, bets are already building on who will reveal HBO as the founder of Bitcoin.

Betting site Polymarket has around 24% odds that early cryptographer Len Sassaman is the favorite. (Sassaman was active in the early Bitcoin forums before dying by suicide.) Other candidates include well-known names like Hal Finney, Adam Back and Nick Szabo.

Many in the crypto space remain skeptical that new identifying information could be lost in the documentation – especially given that it could be difficult to provide definitive proof without removing coins from Satoshi Nakamoto's original Bitcoin stash. This wallet has not been active for more than a decade and currently contains more than 1 million Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, rumors of activity from old Bitcoin wallets have added fuel to the fire. Arkham Intelligence discovered an old Bitcoin wallet – which did not mine 77 million Bitcoins in Bitcoin's first two months – and transferred about $5 million in Bitcoin to Kraken, raising questions about possible connections to the upcoming revelation.

The HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST.