HBO says it solved Bitcoin's biggest mystery

Since Bitcoin’s inception in 2009, no one has been able to crack 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 once before.

Before documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback led the upcoming “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” he rose to fame by exploring the authors behind the QAnon conspiracy theory in another HBO series. Whether or not his new film succeeds in delivering definitive proof where other attempts have failed remains to be seen when it debuts Tuesday — but either way it could have big impacts on Bitcoin’s price.

Interestingly, bets are already stacking up on who HBO is going to reveal as Bitcoin’s founder.

Betting site Polymarket has about 24% odds on early cryptographer Len Sassaman as the favorite to be revealed. (Sassaman was active on the early Bitcoin message boards before dying by suicide.) Other contenders include well-known names like Hal Finney, Adam Back, and Nick Szabo.

Many in crypto remain skeptical that any new identifying information might be shed in the documentary — especially considering it might be difficult to demonstrate definitive proof without moving coins from Satoshi Nakamoto's original stash of Bitcoins. That wallet hasn't been active in more than a decade and currently holds more than 1 million Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, whispers of activity from ancient Bitcoin wallets have added fuel to the fire. Arkham Intelligence spotted an ancient Bitcoin wallet — which hasn’t moved 77 million Bitcoin mined in Bitcoin's first two months — moving about $5 million in Bitcoin to Kraken raising questions about potential ties to the upcoming reveal.

HBO's documentary "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery" premieres Tuesday at 9PM EST.