HBO's Satoshi Documentary 'Money Electric' Is An Insult to Bitcoin

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Some say we live in a golden age of documentaries, and certainly they are being produced on a much greater scale than ever before in history, but for every “Octopus Teachers,” a truly extraordinary and inspiring human story, there is the opposite: a trash-can satire like “Money electricity“.

Let’s start by acknowledging that “Money Electric” It raised its own stakesThe hype cycle built for a week with the promise of a big reveal — that the world would finally know the identity of Bitcoin’s anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

Maybe let’s also put it aside The historical baggage is there. Sure, many journalists have died on this hill, but surely Money Electric might have something to add to the conversation? After all, from the trailer, it looks like they spent millions of dollars to pay for Samson Mow’s dinner while he preached Bitcoin around the world. (It’s always great to support education!)

There were even hints that there might be something inspiring here, a still shot showing an evolution in cypherpunks, all of whom have interesting stories. Perhaps the “big reveal” was just a ploy to get our attention, perhaps a series of revelations (none of which were taken seriously) that added up to a compelling story about what Bitcoin is and can be.

Unfortunately no. For most of its run, “Money Electric” hides its motives, following its star (director Colin Hoback) as he dives into the world of Bitcoin. But it’s clear as the film unfolds that the creators had no other motive than to expose someone as Satoshi.

How else could a big-budget film end up indulging in outright conspiracy theory, delving into the alternate history of the “Big Wars” as a way to make accusations that are almost entirely uninteresting?

Hint: The motivation behind the big reveal here is that Peter Todd may have worked with a secret government agent to promote his ideas for the Bitcoin roadmap.

This is where things go off the rails (or start to go against the master plan). After making us suffer with his misdirections, Hoback and co. Finally their papers, and they discover a series of alleged pieces of evidence showing that Adam Back and Peter Todd (and also Greg Maxwell for some reason) were all secretly Satoshi.

It is truly the most trivial and repetitive theory.

From there, we see a series of errors that could have been easily refuted if the directors had conducted basic follow-up research.

Let’s review:

1. Peter Todd and Adam Back corresponded on a crypto mailing list when he was young. This is true and widely known. It’s something Peter and Adam have commented on publicly and haven’t said much of anything, besides the fact that the crypto list was open to the public, and probably included hundreds of members.
2. Peter Todd’s first post on BitcoinTalk occurred around the time Satoshi left – Again, another favor. In fact, the post is written in Todd’s snarky style, but we’re supposed to believe that this was him misremembering that he was actually Satoshi and was responding to himself. (Or so the director thinks). Not to mention, his forum name at the time was “retep”, and since no one knew who he was, he could have easily deleted it.
3. Peter Todd once made a joke about deleting Bitcoin. This is used to support the idea that he burned Satoshi’s keys.
4. Adam Back discussed Bitcoin on the crypto mailing list after Bitcoin was launched – Giving credit where it’s due, this is also something I didn’t really know. But again, just looking at the archive, we can see material that supports Buck’s claim that he wasn’t interested in Bitcoin yet. In emails, Back reacts negatively to the hype around Bitcoin (which has since risen to over $30), and there is also a response where he complains about Satoshi’s reason (Who misspelled his name) He did add some features that he thought would be useful. Again, 5 minutes of googling.
5. Todd and Buck were in cahoots, participating in a cover-up to hide the fact that they had created Bitcoin. Ta da. That’s why he never joined Blockstream! (This is what the director seriously stated in the film.)

Taking a step back, it’s hard to know what to say about this sequence except that it’s a marvel of creativity and irony, and in saying that, know that this is in no way a compliment.

Initially, Hoback made no legitimate attempt to involve Buck or Todd in his discovery. He just presents the material as he found it, films their reaction, and closes up shop. Logically, even someone like me would admit that there is a non-zero chance that Todd was Satoshi. There aren’t many people you can’t completely rule out, and they are among them.

Unfortunately, non-zero chance is not hard evidence. This is not evidence.

Todd and Back’s online presence is accessible, while deleted from the web. I’ve read it. No, they weren’t the only ones involved in digital cash scanning things.

Of course, with the magic of editing, and by exposing the ‘results’ uncritically, I’m sure many viewers will walk away thinking they’ve been presented with an intelligent, well-researched theory.

All Hoback has proven to me is that he understands the shortcuts you can take when producing a documentary. It alone among creative works allows you to hide all your mistakes behind editing, while making unfounded and dangerous accusations seem plausible.

To be clear, claiming that someone is Satoshi without proof is exactly that.

Let’s hope no one gets hurt by his foolishness.

Note: I conducted an interview with one of the producers of “Electric Money” sometime in 2021. It was not recorded. I had no subsequent contact with the documentary team.