“Finding Satoshi”—How a Private Investigator Solved the Mystery of Bitcoin’s Creator | Bill Cohan & Tyler Maroney

The documentary *Finding Satoshi* identifies Bitcoin’s creator as a collaborative effort between cryptographers Hal Finney and Len Sassaman. Moving beyond traditional linguistic analysis, the investigation relies on firsthand testimony from relatives and colleagues to reconstruct the origins of the Bitcoin white paper and its underlying C++ code. This search highlights the cypherpunk movement’s core ideology: using encryption to secure individual privacy and bypass centralized financial institutions. The creators argue that the total inactivity of the massive Satoshi fortune supports their conclusion, as both identified individuals are deceased. While Bitcoin has evolved into a multi-trillion-dollar store of value rather than the peer-to-peer currency originally envisioned, the project remains a testament to the cypherpunk commitment to decentralization and the radical, open-source ethos that defined the early digital landscape.