In the week before the documentary was released, online betting markets had Len Sassaman, a cryptographer who moved in similar online circles as Satoshi, as the most likely candidate to be revealed as the creator of Bitcoin. Sassaman took his own life in 2011. at the age of 31, shortly after Satoshi disappeared.
The case for Sassaman was first outlined in 2021. by Evan Hatch, founder of crypto gaming platform Worlds. Whenever speculation about Sassaman periodically surfaces, the spotlight is on his widow, software developer Meredith Patterson, who believes the theory is unfounded.
“Before, people were really curious and rightfully so. I would have people write me with a two-page list of dates and places, asking where I was at such and such a time or place,” Patterson says. “Where are you getting off? A complete stranger approaches a widow and tries to question her. Like, fuck Sergeant Joe Friday.
When Patterson found out that the documentary might mention her ex-husband’s name, her first thought was for her parents, who she worried might be targeted as a way to threaten her into handing over the bitcoin stashes to Satoshi. “I called my dad and said, ‘Something weird happened and it’s not our fault,'” she says. A friend who works in law enforcement in Belgium, where Patterson now lives, advised her to seek refuge at the local police station if she felt unsafe.
After all, the problem was none of her business. “It was a relief for me and my family that they named you Peter Todd,” says Patterson. “But I feel sorry for Peter Todd. Honestly, no one deserves to get a target painted on their back.
The position of many Bitcoin advocates, including Todd, is that there is nothing to be gained by going after Satoshi. In the absence of its creator, bitcoin has evolved under a meritocracy of ideas, in which changes are proposed and decided by a community vote, they say. Meanwhile, there is a lot to lose for anyone accused of being Satoshi, accurately or otherwise.
