Peter Todd is a Canadian developer who participated in the creation of the open source for Bitcoin Core software and who has been involved with Bitcoin since 2010. Todd describes himself as a “cryptochronomancer”, as he considers himself a true lover of cryptography, computing and digital security. His enigmatic personality had kept him relatively under the radar, but the belief that he is Satoshi Nakamoto makes him a focus of interest. Let’s know its history.
1 Who is Peter Todd?
The truth is that Peter Todd, a young developer and 39 year old cypherpunk, He is an enigmatic character about which we have little information. However, he remains active in his count ofwhere he has more than 200 thousand followers and is not afraid to express his opinion on politics, finance, technology and, of course, cryptocurrencies. He maintains a strong stance against the war in Ukraine and also expresses his support for other social causes.
Likewise, Todd is the founder of OpenTimestampsan open source that seeks to provide a standard format for the blockchain time market.
2 What have been your contributions in software development?
Currently, since July 2014, Todd has been the main developer on the Bitcoin Coinkite platform. Likewise, since 2015 he has participated as an advisor on the Verisart platform, a digital collectibles website.
In addition, he worked on the projects known as “bitcoin 2.0”, specifically in Counterparty, Colored Coins and Mastercoin. He was also involved in the launch of Zcasha private currency that was launched in 2016 and is characterized by offering an even more advanced privacy system. This project was carried out together with the technological consultant Edward Snowden and, as a curious fact, once the creation was completed he decided publicly destroy the computer he used to develop the cryptocurrency.
3 What other information do we know about Peter Todd?
Despite the importance of Peter Todd in the development of Bitcoin technology, we do not know his educational background, his date of birth and even his interests beyond the digital world. Furthermore, the little information we know does not have the necessary supporting sources to be considered valuable. However, these are some of the facts that can be corroborated:
In 2019, Todd was accused of sexual misconduct by Isis Lovecruftwho is also a developer and cryptographer. However, Todd settled the lawsuit and later accused her of defamation. In the end, both parties reached an agreement and the charges were dissolved without monetary reward.
Likewise, during the famous “Bitcoin Block Size War,” which occurred from 2015 to 2017, Peter Todd stood on the side of the “small blockers,” along with the company Blockstream and Adam Back. They wanted to hold the 1 megabyte limit of Bitcoin because, according to their argument, the “big blockers” wanted to increase the block size to promote cheaper and faster transactions.
Ultimately, the small blockers emerged victorious from the war, causing the opposing side to “fork” from Bitcoin technology; This began the creation of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cashan open source offshoot that appeared in 2017.
What was the Block Size War?
The Block Size War was a technological debate over the rise of the Bitcoin blockchain. The debate was simply a discussion about the amount of data that each block should allow, however, the dispute escalated to such a point that it became a controversial argument about who or who controls the Bitcoin protocol, the quota and its value as decentralized entity.
4 What role does Peter Todd play in the Bitcoin community?
Regardless of whether Peter Todd is Nakamoto or not, the young developer’s connection to Bitcoin is indisputable. Todd was one of the first contributors to the Bitcoin codebase and was one of the few people who managed to communicate publicly with Satoshi Nakamoto before his disappearance in 2011.
In one interview during 2019Todd confessed that he was just 15 years old when his interest in Bitcoin began. At that time he had conversations with Hal Finney, considered the first bitcoiner in history, and with Adam Back, the famous cryptography activist. Both characters have been considered contenders to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
As a curious fact, Peter Todd I was barely 23 years old when the Bitcoin white paper was published, which outlines a proposal for a decentralized peer-to-peer payment system. In this text, Satoshi Nakamoto presents the weaknesses of the current financial system and how Bitcoin technology can solve these problems. It also briefly explains the bases and operation of your project.
Peter Todd’s projects and improvements for Bitcoin
It is worth noting that Todd is one of the main promoters of Full RBF (Replacement by Commission is its Spanish acronym), a protocol that some Bitcoin wallets offer as an alternative to speed up transactions. With it it is possible to increase the commission that was paid for a recently sent transaction. That is, RBF is a Bitcoin tool that increases the commission of a transaction that has already been sent, thereby allowing it to be confirmed more quickly.
At the same time, in the quest to continue improving Bitcoin technology, the developer has also been working on OpenTimestampswhich is a decentralized timestamping system that, in Todd’s words, offers a number of advantages compared to other alternatives. With this system it is possible prove the existence of documents and interact with calendar servers to group and register requests.
5 Why is Todd believed to be Satoshi Nakamoto?
Peter Todd’s contributions to the Bitcoin blockchain date back to the technology’s inception, when Todd was just a teenager. Without a doubt it is about one of the oldest collaborators. This is one of the reasons why Cullen Hoback, the HBO documentary filmmaker, identifies him as Satoshi Nakamoto.
Young talent, young promise
During his years of working on Bitcoin, the young developer has demonstrated competence and expertise. His skills and experience make the possibility that it is Nakamoto not completely ruled out, but remote. Additionally, the developer holds views on security and decentralization that broadly coincide with Nakamoto’s stance. On the other hand, Todd’s profile is relatively low, although this is a characteristic that fits almost all cypherpunks; the search for privacy and anonymity.
To do this, Hoback is based on the following evidence: In a thread posted in December 2010, in the Bitcointalk forumTodd responded to one of Nakamoto’s messages about rates. According to this theory, Peter Todd’s clarification amounts to an oversight, since he should have responded from Satoshi’s account and not from his own. That is, Todd’s response would be a continuation of Nakamoto’s paragraph and not a separate text.
Obviously, many researchers and academics they are not satisfied with the evidence presented by HBO. In fact, some called them “ridiculous.” Such is the case of BitMEX Researchwhose interest lies in in-depth research on Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and financial markets.
Another argument that documentary filmmakers use is frequent correspondence between Adam Back and Peter, who chatted on the crypto mailing list. But this is well-known information that does not seem to provide any further important evidence. Also mentioned is a joke that Todd made about deleting Bitcoinsince this would support the idea that he burned Satoshi’s keys.
6 Peter Todd’s opinion on his relationship with Nakamoto
Todd has flatly denied being Satoshi Nakamotoalthough other times he has joked about this possibility. In one publication In X the developer mentioned: “Satoshi is the entire human race except Craig Wright.” This is a kind of mockery of Craig Wright, who, remember, is one of the people who has claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin, although his argument was rejected by Judge James Mellor in the United Kingdom this year.
On the other hand, in an interview from 2019Peter Todd said: “I am Satoshi, like everyone else.”but this was not done as a confession, but as a reminder of the importance of anonymity and that the values of cryptography and Bitcoin do not belong to a single person, but to a group of individuals who have cared about developing new tools and protect everyone’s privacy.
“I’m Satoshi, like everyone else.”
Likewise, his latest publications on the subject have had a jocular and burlesque tone. His immediate response The documentary filmmaker’s proposal was as follows: “This will be very fun when you include it in the documentary and a group of bitcoiners see it.” Additionally, in an email to CoinDesk, Todd claimed that Cullen Huback was “looking for baseless things.”
It can be said that the documentary, although it delves into the history of Bitcoin technology and other relevant cryptographic projects, does not present any solid evidence that supports the idea that Peter Todd is Satoshi. Although circumstantial evidence is presented, none is strong enough and remains within speculation. Let us remember that this is not the first time that the media has tried to reveal Satoshi’s identity and failed in the attempt, as happened with Dorian Nakamoto.
A young man dedicated to promoting the values of Bitcoin
Aside from all this speculation, the important thing is to remember that Peter Todd’s contributions to the world of Bitcoin are undeniable. Your technical contributions and his capacity for long-term vision have made him one of the most important figures within the cypherpunk movement.
Todd has focused on strengthening the network’s fundamentals and securing the future of a reliable and decentralized digital currency. Today, Todd’s priority is to increase the processing capacity of Bitcoin transactions, but without compromising the values of decentralization and security. Apparently, we will be able to continue observing Todd’s projects and optimizations for Bitcoin in the coming years.
