- Punters are piling into prediction market as anticipation builds for possible reveal in documentary.
- Len Sassaman slides on Polymarket after his widow tells DL News he's not Satoshi.
In heavy action on Polymarket, Nick Szabo overtook Len Sassaman on as the favourite to be unmasked as Satoshi Nakamoto in a documentary scheduled to be telecast on Tuesday.
On Monday, 40% of the punters on the crypto-driven prediction market were betting Sassaman, an American computer scientist who died in 2011, would be revealed as the creator of Bitcoin.
But doubts Sassaman was Satoshi flared up after his widow, Meredith Patterson, told DL News that he isn’t Satoshi.
Now, the odds have dwindled to 6.5% while Szabo, a 60-year-old computer scientist and cryptographer, is favoured by 13.3% in the $15.3 million pool.
Answering honestly
Patterson knew her comments may have an impact.
“I kind of wonder whether I’m screwing with the prediction markets by answering honestly when people ask me questions, but long story short, fuck ‘em,” she told DL News.
The crypto world has been buzzing that Satoshi’s identity would be revealed ever since news broke last week that an HBO documentary called Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery had discovered the truth.
On October 4, Cullen Hoback, the film’s director, promised the documentary would “land on a specific name.”
For all you gamblers out there: I’m not entering this betting pool on #MoneyElectric: The Bitcoin Mystery, but I will confirm—we land on a specific name.https://t.co/DYq5BItlPC
— Cullen (@CullenHoback) October 4, 2024
Over the years, many have tried to solve the greatest mystery in the history of finance. The clues are well-known.
The person or group behind Nakamoto had been a prolific poster on the forum bitcointalk.org when discussing the project and its implications.
Their last post, however, was on December 12, 2010.
With Satoshi controlling $67 billion worth of Bitcoin, the revelation could make a significant impact on the crypto market.
Ahead of its initial public offering, for instance, Coinbase’s S1 filing listed the identification of Nakamoto or the transfer of their Bitcoin as a factor that would adversely affect its business.
Along with Szabo and Sassaman, Adam Back and the late Hal Finney have long been suspected of being Satoshi.
David Kleiman, an American computer forensics expert who died in 2013, is favoured third in the Polymarket pool, at 4.1%.
Liam is a Berlin-based correspondent for DL News. Got a tip? Email him at liam@dlnews.com
