Adam Back Trashes Todd Satoshi Theory, Roots Bitcoin in Cypherpunk Research

Blockstream's Adam Back has pushed back against renewed claims that Peter Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin (BTC). In a recent discussion, Back argued that Bitcoin's proof-of-work math is a discovery, not an invention, and that it grew out of cypherpunk research dating back to 1997.

Back pointed to a 1997 mailing list thread where the concept of decentralized money built on proof of work was discussed. He also mentioned his own Hashcash system, written in 1997 to fight email spam, which later anchored Bitcoin's mining and was cited by Satoshi in the original paper.

The debate surrounding Todd's possible identity as Satoshi resurfaced after he recalled discussing Bitcoin-like systems with Back and Hal Finney as a teenager. However, Back emphasized that Nakamoto's real feat was solving the double-spending problem and fusing scattered ideas into one working system.