Creator of Bitcoin REVEALED - HBO documentary claims | Bitcoin News by CoinCorner

Transcript

The creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, has been identified according to a new HBO documentary released this week. Could the US be clearing the way to sell off their vast $4.4 billion Bitcoin holding? The IMF has urged El Salvador to reduce its exposure to Bitcoin, declaring that it could disrupt the national economy.

Looking first at Bitcoin's price, it's been yet another week of sideways movement. We are fully into Q4, and October is currently failing to deliver the "Uptober" the community had been hoping for. Despite this, the price seems stable at a previous support level of around $60,000 per coin, and it's around 22% up from recent lows.

Now, our first story is coming from the US Supreme Court, which has declined to take on a case concerning the ownership of $4.4 billion worth of Bitcoin seized following the shutdown of the dark web's Silk Road marketplace. The request, brought on by Battle Born Investments, claimed it had purchased the rights to the seized Bitcoin through a bankruptcy estate. However, after failing to convince the District Court in 2022 and the Appeals Court in 2023 both deciding that the firm did not have a valid claim the Supreme Court has now declined to take on the case as well.

The implication of this is that the US government could now be free to use the seized Bitcoin as they please, which is leaving some concerned that they may sell it. The US government has already moved about $2 billion worth of the Silk Road-linked Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime on 29th July, and there is worry that they could follow in Germany's footsteps, where they recently sold off all of their government Bitcoin holdings, which created some short-term sell pressure, impacting the price. It's still unclear what the US government's intentions are regarding this Bitcoin. However, as we head into the upcoming presidential election, Donald Trump has pledged to use Bitcoin as a strategic asset if he gets into office, whereas Kamala Harris's intentions are still unclear.

Now, one country that has no plans to sell its Bitcoin is El Salvador. However, this week the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, has urged the country to limit its exposure to Bitcoin. In a press conference, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack stated that the IMF has suggested limiting public sector exposure to Bitcoin ever since El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender back in 2021. The IMF has repeatedly expressed worries about the decision's possible macroeconomic, financial, and legal hazards, warning that Bitcoin's volatility might disrupt the national economy. However, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has consistently dismissed concerns raised by institutions like the IMF about their Bitcoin adoption. He even went as far as publicly mocking them in a post on X. Despite global scepticism, Bukele has remained committed to the project and is playing a key role in the country's transformation.

Now, some positive news for global adoption is coming from Bahrain, as the National Bank of Bahrain has launched a Bitcoin-pegged investment fund aimed at targeting the growing demand for the asset among institutional investors in Gulf countries. The fund, developed in partnership with ARP Digital, will offer investors access to any rise in Bitcoin's price, capped with a predetermined threshold, and it claims to guarantee 100% loss protection in the event of a decline. The bank said the product is geared towards risk-averse investors seeking exposure to Bitcoin while fully insulating their principal investments from market fluctuations. The Middle East and North African region is ranked as the seventh largest global crypto market, and according to Chainalysis, it accounted for 7.5% of global transaction volume, totalling $339 billion. This announcement is yet another positive step for Bitcoin, as it demonstrates its growing adoption globally and solidifies its standing among mainstream finance.

Also in the news, the exchange Crypto.com is suing the SEC after receiving a formal warning from the US regulator. The firm received a Wells notice from the SEC, which is usually sent ahead of launching a formal lawsuit, and they now join a long list of crypto exchanges that have received such notices in the past. Crypto.com are hitting back, though, claiming that the SEC is overstepping its authority in regulating the cryptocurrency industry and is unilaterally expanding its jurisdiction beyond statutory limits. It also claims that the SEC has established an unlawful rule that defines nearly all crypto asset transactions as securities transactions, no matter how they are sold, whereas identical transactions in Bitcoin or Ethereum are somehow not. Crypto.com CEO Chris Marzalek said the lawsuit is a warranted response to the SEC's "regulation by enforcement" regime, which has hurt more than 50 million American crypto holders.

Now for our final story this week. HBO has released a somewhat controversial documentary called Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, which claims to have uncovered the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin. Prior to the release of the 100-minute long documentary, which took three years to make, filmmaker Cullen Hoback claimed he makes a strong case for uncovering Satoshi's identity while confronting the suspect in the documentary.

Now, spoiler alert: Hoback's film comes to the conclusion that Satoshi is really early Bitcoin developer Peter Todd. But is this correct? Well, Todd quickly responded by saying that Hoback was "grasping at straws," adding, "Of course I'm not Satoshi." The film did not present any compelling evidence of this theory, instead relying on circumstantial evidence, including Todd's interest in cryptography from an early age, his relationship with Adam Back (who was cited in the Bitcoin white paper), and a forum post that Hoback argued Todd accidentally sent from an account with Todd's name on it instead of Satoshi's. During the confrontation in the film, Todd said, "This is going to be very funny when you put this into the documentary, and a bunch of Bitcoiners watch it. I suspect a lot of them will be very happy if you go this route because it's yet another example of journalists really missing the point in a way that's very funny. And the point is to make Bitcoin a global currency."

This really sums it up perfectly, as the search for Satoshi is not a constructive endeavour. The reason he disappeared was for the sole purpose of allowing Bitcoin to grow organically and become a truly decentralised network without any bias. Uncovering his identity destroys this, and instead, we should just be grateful to Satoshi for discovering Bitcoin.