• Peter Schiff criticized his absence from HBO’s Bitcoin documentary amid ongoing identity debates
• Bitcoin’s price fell to $60,650 as speculation about Nakamoto’s identity intensified

In the wake of HBO’s documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” which premiered on 8 October, Economist Peter Schiff voiced his frustration over his absence from the film.

The search for Satoshi

The documentary speculated that Bitcoin [BTC] developer Peter Todd could be Satoshi Nakamoto, stirring controversy.

However, Todd has vehemently rejected the claim. He stated,

“I’m not Satoshi.”

This speculation was challenged by Dogecoin [DOGE] founder Billy Markus too, who dismissed the assertion on X (formerly Twitter). He said,

“He [Peter Todd] is one of the more OG core devs but not the creator.”

When queried about his perspective on Nakamoto’s true identity, Markus added,

“Hal Finney and friends.” 

Peter Schiff criticizes HBO documentary

After watching Cullen Hoback’s documentary and after noting his absence as a prominent critic of the asset class, Schiff expressed his disappointment.

“I just watched @CullenHoback’s new #Bitcoin documentary on HBO. As the most well-known Bitcoin critic within the Bitcoin community, my absence was conspicuous.”

Responding to Schiff’s comment, however, Hoback argued, 

“We could only have so many Peters!  @Nouriel was the primary critic. I interviewed others, but Dr. Doom also had archival interactions with folks like @rogerkver. And his interview was fun.”

The conversation soon escalated as several individuals joined in, ridiculing Schiff for considering himself a key figure in the debate. In fact, many even questioned how a skeptic like him could even be considered for a documentary looking for Nakamoto. 

Schiff was quick to respond to such criticism, however, asserting his perspective with renewed vigor. He said, 

Are Schiff’s claims justified?

Needless to say, Schiff’s criticism of Bitcoin is widely recognized within the cryptocurrency community. In fact, in a recent debate where Jack Mallers of Strike defended BTC, Schiff defended gold by saying, 

“I don’t think BTC qualifies as money.”

He even pointed out that Bitcoin lacks gold’s tangible value. According to Schiff, cryptocurrency hype has caused investors to overlook gold’s impressive performance at new peaks.

Here, it’s worth pointing out that in the context of the aforementioned documentary, Polymarket data suggested that over 95% of people believe Satoshi’s identity will not be proven in Q4 of this year.