New Documentary 'Finding Satoshi' Presents Compelling Case for Bitcoin Creator's Identity

There’s no shortage of documentaries and articles claiming to have uncovered the identity of Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. But few have felt as compelling as “Finding Satoshi,” which aired this week after more than four years of research and dozens of interviews.

The documentary argues that Bitcoin wasn’t created by a single individual but by two people: Hal Finney and Len Sassaman, both now deceased. While it doesn’t present a definitive smoking gun, the film shifts away from sensational claims and instead connects long-overlooked clues that have been hiding in plain sight since 2009.

The Investigation

The film follows New York Times bestselling author William Cohan and private investigator Tyler Maroney as they embark on a four-year investigation. Their journey begins with the usual suspects in the cypherpunk movement:

• Adam Back
• Nick Szabo
• Hal Finney
• Len Sassaman
• Paul Le Roux
• Wei Dai

Using a combination of data science, linguistic analysis, and expert testimony, Alyssa Blackburn, a data scientist at Baylor College of Medicine, analyzed Satoshi’s digital rhythm—examining posting times, mining activity, and periods of silence.

According to the documentary, only two individuals fit the profile: Finney and Sassaman. Blackburn stated that it was “inconceivable” that Back, Szabo, or Dai could be Satoshi based on the analysis alone.

Previous Claims and Rejections

This isn’t the first time Len Sassaman has been named as Bitcoin’s potential creator. Before the 2024 HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery”, betting markets like Polymarket saw heavy wagers on Sassaman being identified as Satoshi. However, Sassaman’s widow, Meredith Patterson, denied the claims, telling DL News that her late husband was not the founder of the crypto industry.

“Money Electric” ultimately named Bitcoin developer Peter Todd as the cryptocurrency’s creator, a claim Todd denied. More recently, New York Times investigative reporter John Carreyrou—known for exposing the Theranos fraud—published an exposé suggesting Adam Back was likely Bitcoin’s inventor. Back has repeatedly refuted these claims.

The Coder Behind Bitcoin

“Finding Satoshi” identifies Hal Finney as the primary figure behind Bitcoin’s code. Finney was the first person to receive Bitcoin from Satoshi Nakamoto in January 2009. Years earlier, he had created Reusable Proof of Work (RPOW), a system considered Bitcoin’s closest precursor—yet it was notably absent from the Bitcoin whitepaper.

Tyler Maroney, the private investigator, initially suggested Finney couldn’t have written Bitcoin because he wasn’t known for C++, the programming language used to code the cryptocurrency. However, Will Price, Finney’s former boss at PGP Corp., where Finney worked for 16 years, dismissed this concern, stating:

“To an engineer of Hal’s caliber, learning a new programming language would have been trivial.”