HBO could be exposing computer scientist, Len Sassaman to be the real Satoshi

"A long-dormant Bitcoin whale, active during the earliest days of the Bitcoin network, has recently resurfaced, moving millions in Bitcoin according to blockchain data firm Arkham Intelligence. This whale, last active in the first two months of Bitcoin’s launch in 2009, has transferred $3.58 million worth of BTC to the Kraken exchange since Sept. 24. Most notably, on Oct. 3, the whale moved an additional 10 Bitcoin, valued at $610,000.

Arkham reports that the whale’s wallet, untouched for nearly a decade, now holds 1,169 Bitcoin—worth approximately $72.4 million at current prices. This unexpected activity has reignited curiosity about Bitcoin’s origins, with many speculating whether this whale will be the person who will be revealed to be the inventor of Bitcoin in a forthcoming HBO documentary. Sassaman, who passed away in 2011, had a memorial encoded into the Bitcoin blockchain, further fueling rumors of his involvement.

HBO’s upcoming udocumentary 'Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,' set to premiere on Oct. 8. While the documentary's creators did not list who they thought would be Nakamoto in the trailer, Polymarket gamblers quickly place bets on who may be outed as the Bitcoin creator. As of Oct.5, 44.5% of bettors favor Sassaman, with other prominent bitcoin figures like Hal Finney, Adam Back, Nick Szabo and Paul Le Roux following the list.

Who is Len Sassaman?

Len Sassaman, a cryptography prodigy, attended private school in his home state of Pennsylvania. In his late teens, he moved to San Francisco, where he became a prominent figure in the cypherpunk movement—a, a group advocating digital privacy that emerged in the late 1980s. Sassaman eventually studied under David Chaum, often referred to as the 'godfather of crypto.'

Throughout his career, Sassaman contributed to key projects like Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and its successor, GNU Privacy Guard. Along with his wife, fellow computer scientist Meredith Patterson, he co-founded the SaaS startup Osogato.

Despite his accomplishments, Sassaman struggled with depression from a young age. Tragically, on July 3, 2011, he took his own life at the age of 31. In a touching tribute, his memory was forever encoded into Block 138725 of the Bitcoin blockchain, honoring him as 'a friend, a kind soul, and a devious schemer.'"

Could Len Sassaman be Satoshi Nakamoto?

One factor fueling speculation that Len Sassaman could be Satoshi Nakamoto is the timing of events. On April 23, 2011, just two months before Sassaman's death, Nakamoto sent his final email to the Bitcoin community, stating he had 'moved on to other things.' After that, Nakamoto vanished without further explanation, coinciding with Sassaman’s passing in July.

Beyond the timing, Sassaman’s close relationship with Hal Finney—another potential candidate for Nakamoto—adds to the speculation. According to Evan Hatch, founder of Worlds, Sassaman and Finney worked together on PGP at Network Associates. In Bitcoin’s early days, Nakamoto collaborated with Finney, who was the first to contribute code, run a node, and receive the first-ever Bitcoin transaction.

Both Sassaman and Finney were also experts in remailer technology, an important precursor to Bitcoin’s privacy features. Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, previously suggested that Nakamoto may have been a remailer developer. Sassaman’s key project, Pynchon Gate, advanced remailer technology by enabling pseudonymous information retrieval through nodes. As the project evolved, Sassaman focused on solving the Byzantine Fault problem, a critical issue in peer-to-peer networks. This solution was essential to creating secure, decentralized cryptocurrencies without the need for trusted intermediaries—something Nakamoto ultimately achieved with Bitcoin’s blockchain and triple-entry accounting system.

Another clue lies in Sassaman’s location during Bitcoin’s development. Based in Belgium at the time, his proximity to Europe ties in with Nakamoto’s use of British English, reflected in phrases like 'bloody difficult,' 'maths,' and 'grey.' Additionally, Bitcoin’s genesis block contains a headline from The Times, a UK-based newspaper, further linking Nakamoto’s identity to Europe.

Len isn't Satoshi!

With polymarket gamblers putting their bets on Sassaman, Sassaman’s widow does not beleive that her husband could've been Bitoicn inventor.

On Feb. 23, 2021, in an X post, she posted saying that "To the best of my knowledge, Len was not Satoshi!"