Peter Todd (cryptographer)

Last updated
Peter Todd
Born
Canada
EducationOntario College of Art and Design
Occupation(s) Cryptographer, software developer
Known forBitcoin development, cryptography
Notable work OpenTimestamps
Website https://petertodd.org/

Peter Todd is a Canadian cryptographer and software developer who was an early contributor to the development of Bitcoin. [1] Todd has been involved in cryptocurrency since the early 2010s and has worked on blockchain and privacy-focused projects. [2]

Contents

Biography

Peter Todd was born in Canada. When he was 15 years old he began communicating with cypherpunks like Adam Back and Hal Finney. [3] Before his career as a core developer, Peter Todd attended the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. [3]

In 2019, Todd filed a defamation suit against former Tor developer Isis Lovecruft after they publicly accused him of rape and sexual misconduct on Twitter. [4] The lawsuit was challenged for dismissal through an Anti-SLAPP motion and finally settled in 2021 [5] with Lovecruft agreeing to publicly state that "Peter Todd never raped me or sexually assaulted me". [6]

Cryptocurrency involvement

In 2014 Todd stated that Gavin Andresen had been responsible for code changes that resulted in Bitcoin's rising fees. [7] In 2017 Todd was against an increase in the Bitcoin block size in relation to the controversy surrounding the Bitcoin scalability problem and SegWit. [8]

The 2024 HBO documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery by Cullen Hoback named Todd as Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Todd has publicly denied being Nakamoto, stating in the film that it was "ludicrous". [3] [1] Hoback's theory includes a range of circumstantial evidence. [9] [10] In the film, Todd denied that he was Nakamoto, saying that it was "ludicrous" and "grasping at straws". Todd criticized Hoback for "QAnon style coincidence-based conspiracy thinking". [11] [10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Peter Todd: I am not Bitcoin inventor, says man named in HBO film". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  2. ↑ "HBO Documentary Suggests Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Is Developer Peter Todd". Bloomberg.com. 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  3. 1 2 3 Kaminska, Izabella (2024-10-09). "Bitcoin creator is Peter Todd, HBO film says". POLITICO. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  4. ↑ Brandom, Russell (2019-10-02). "A disgraced Tor developer has resurfaced to testify against one of his accusers". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  5. ↑ "Todd v. Lovecruft, 4:19-cv-01751 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  6. ↑ "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  7. ↑ Simonite, Tom (15 August 2014). "The Man Who Really Built Bitcoin". MIT Tech Review. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  8. ↑ "Majority of bitcoin miners signal rebellion amid sluggish 'blockchain'". Bloomberg. 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  9. ↑ Dugan, Kevin T. (2024-10-08). "A Quest to Unmask Bitcoin Inventor Satoshi Nakamoto Finds a Man Named Peter Todd". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  10. 1 2 Sarlin, Jon (9 October 2024). "'I am not Satoshi Nakamoto': Subject of HBO documentary denies he invented bitcoin | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  11. ↑ Roberts, Jeff John (October 9, 2024). "HBO doc reveals Bitcoin creator is Peter Todd—that's wrong but 'Money Electric' is still a good watch". Fortune Crypto. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
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