“Finding Satoshi”—How a Private Investigator Solved the Mystery of Bitcoin’s Creator

The documentary "Finding Satoshi" investigates the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. The filmmakers, journalist Bill Cohen and private investigator Tyler Moroni, believe they have successfully identified Satoshi as a combination of two individuals: Len Sassaman and Hal Finney. This conclusion was reached after four years of extensive work, which included interviewing relatives, friends, and co-workers of the individuals they identified, a methodology they believe sets their work apart from previous attempts that relied heavily on linguistic analysis or AI. The motivation behind undertaking such a monumental task, especially when many in the crypto community believe Satoshi's identity is irrelevant, stemmed from a serendipitous beginning. Bill Cohen, initially approached to be an interviewer, spent a year and a half speaking with "OG Bitcoin people" like Michael Saylor and Joe Lubin. To his surprise, these early adopters either didn't care about Satoshi's identity, didn't want to discuss it, or felt it was an unnecessary distraction from Bitcoin's utility. Michael Saylor's analogy of Prometheus bringing fire, questioning the relevance of the fire-bringer's identity, encapsulates this sentiment. Bill speculated that this reluctance might be due to a fear of discrediting Bitcoin if Satoshi were revealed to be a "bad guy," or simply because they believed the technology itself was what mattered, regardless of its origin. Tyler Moroni's involvement as a private investigator marked a turning point in the documentary's direction. His skills were crucial in analyzing technical aspects like the C++ programming of the original Bitcoin client and time zone changes, as well as conducting in-depth historical research into the world of cryptographers and computer scientists from which Bitcoin emerged. Unlike the crypto OGs, the cryptographers and computer scientists Tyler interviewed were surprisingly open to discussing Satoshi's identity, driven by intellectual curiosity. Tyler emphasized the difficulty of earning their trust, often meeting with individuals multiple times before they agreed to go on camera. This meticulous approach, exemplified by his four-hour lunch with BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen, focused on demonstrating thorough homework and asking genuinely curious questions rather than seeking soundbites. The filmmakers highlighted the "public interest" aspect of their investigation. Tyler explained that understanding who controls a fortune of 1.1 million Bitcoins (worth anywhere from $80 billion to $150 billion) is inherently a matter of public interest, similar to why figures like Elon Musk are scrutinized. Bill added that reporting on finance involves understanding the flow of capital, and Satoshi Nakamoto sits at the center of that conversation, especially as Bitcoin has been embraced by institutions it originally sought to evade. He also stressed the importance of informing the public about Bitcoin's origins and purpose, noting that confidence is the backbone of the financial system, and Bitcoin emerged in 2008 as a response to a crisis of confidence in traditional banking. The documentary delves into the ideology of the "cypherpunks," a movement from which Bitcoin was born. Tyler described how these computer scientists, dating back to the 1970s, feared increasing government and financial institution power and the erosion of privacy. The 1993 "Cypherpunk Manifesto" by Eric Hughes advocated for using code to protect privacy and autonomy from authoritarian control and self-interested corporations. Phil Zimmermann, inventor of PGP, exemplified this ethos, fighting the US government for the right to encryption. While Zimmermann didn't identify as a libertarian, his motivation was to enable activists to communicate securely, a goal that eventually extended to financial transactions. Bill Cohen noted the irony that while Bitcoin was intended to disrupt centralized financial institutions, these same institutions, like JP Morgan Chase, are now stronger than ever and are major players in the cryptocurrency space. He expressed disappointment that Bitcoin hasn't truly changed the world in the way the white paper envisioned, particularly in its limited adoption as a currency compared to its use for speculation. Tyler, while not endorsing or rejecting the cypherpunk ideology, found their motives to be in the "right place." He acknowledged their foresight in predicting the erosion of privacy by corporations and governments. However, he also conceded that ultimate privacy protection, as sought by the cypherpunks, inevitably allows for "bad actors," citing Bitcoin's early association with illicit activities like the Silk Road. He also observed a shift in Silicon Valley's ethos, from early progressive coders to a more wealth-driven culture, which might have contributed to Bitcoin's evolution away from its original ideals. The documentary's conclusion points to Len Sassaman and Hal Finney as Satoshi. This realization didn't come from a preconceived notion but emerged over time as evidence accumulated. A key insight was that while Hal Finney was brilliant at coding Bitcoin, his colleagues and friends believed he was not an academic writer and therefore must have had help with the white paper. This led them to consider a collaborator with experience in academic writing, eventually pointing to Len Sassaman, who had previously worked with Hal Finney at Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), founded by Phil Zimmermann. The filmmakers acknowledge they lack direct evidence like email traffic between Len and Hal. However, they rely on the testimony of their widows, Fran Finney and Meredith Patterson, and friends like Bram Cohen. Meredith Patterson confirmed Len's frequent use of pseudonyms, a common practice among cypherpunks, not necessarily for nefarious reasons but as a part of their lifestyle, sometimes for protection against government scrutiny. Bram Cohen, Len's best friend, even tweeted years ago about his suspicions regarding Len and Hal's collaboration due to their shared interest in pseudonyms, relevant technology, payment systems, and online anonymity. A compelling piece of circumstantial evidence for their conclusion is the untouched nature of Satoshi's estimated 1.2 million Bitcoins. Bill Cohen, as a "student of human nature," finds it illogical that someone alive with such a vast fortune would not touch it. The fact that both Hal Finney and Len Sassaman are deceased provides a "pretty decent explanation" for why the fortune remains dormant. The division of labor, according to sources like Bram Cohen and Will Price (Hal's boss), was that Hal Finney was the C++ coder, and Len Sassaman was the white paper author and key communicator on platforms like BitcoinTalk forums. The documentary also explores the "transhumanist" beliefs of some cypherpunks, including Hal Finney, Nick Szabo, and Wei Dai, who were part of a movement called "Extropians." This group believed in extending human life and capabilities through technology. Hal Finney, in line with these beliefs, had himself cryogenically frozen after his death. This introduces a sci-fi element to the narrative: the possibility that Hal Finney, if resurrected in the future, could reclaim his Bitcoin fortune. The idea of holding value across centuries, waiting for technological advancements to restore one's body, adds a "messianic" dimension to the Bitcoin story. The discussion then touched upon the "quantum threat" to Bitcoin, where future quantum computers might be able to hack the elliptic curve cryptography securing Satoshi's keys, turning the 1.2 million Bitcoin into a global treasure hunt. This raises questions within the Bitcoin community about whether to freeze Satoshi's stash or maintain immutable property rights, leaving an opening for a resurrected Hal to reclaim his Bitcoin. The filmmakers did not interview Craig Wright, a controversial figure who claims to be Satoshi. Reflecting on what Satoshi (Len and Hal) would think of Bitcoin today, Bill Cohen believes they would be "blown away" by its current value but "disappointed" that it hasn't become the disruptive force against the fiat system or the widely used currency they envisioned. Tyler Moroni echoed this, suggesting they would be "fascinated" by its evolution but "disappointed" by the current state of privacy and the concentration of control among large corporate and government entities. He noted that Bitcoin's trajectory, becoming something different from its original intent, is common in technological innovation, citing examples like bubble wrap and Listerine.