Like a Bansky of the crypto world, little is known about Satoshi Nakamoto, the reputed creator of the digital currency Bitcoin. What’s his real name? What’s he worth? Who is he, really?
Director Cullen Hoback attempts to get to the bottom of Nakamoto’s identity in the HBO documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, a quest that takes him around the world. The film executive produced by Adam McKay will debut on HBO on Tuesday, October 8, and will be available to stream on Max. Watch the trailer below.
“In Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, intrepid filmmaker Cullen Hoback dives into one of the most enduring and high-stakes mysteries in technology and finance: the origins of Bitcoin and the identity of its anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto,” notes a synopsis. “More than a decade after Satoshi’s disappearance, Bitcoin now threatens to disrupt the global financial order, forcing nations to reconsider the very nature of money as Satoshi potentially stands to become the richest person on earth. Known for uncovering clandestine subcultures and movements through digital forensics, Hoback immerses himself with key players, uncovers never-before-seen clues, and humorously unravels Bitcoin’s chaotic origins and meteoric rise. Money Electric offers a thrilling, globe-spanning investigation into the intentions of Bitcoin’s enigmatic inventor, as Hoback encounters those who could be Satoshi, seeking to reveal who holds the power—and what they might do with it if Bitcoin were woven into our daily lives.”
HBO
Hoback is well suited to the mission of uncovering Nakamoto’s true identity. In his 2021 film Q: Into the Storm, he probed the QAnon conspiracy phenomenon. In 2017’s What Lies Upstream, “an investigation into a chemical spill spirals into an indictment of the entire system meant to protect drinking water, revealing cover-ups at the highest levels of government.” His 2013 documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply “exposes what corporations and governments learn about people through Internet and cell phone usage, and what can be done about it.”
HBO Documentary Films presents Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, a Hyrax Films Production in association with HyperObject Industries and Hello Pictures. Produced and directed by Cullen Hoback; produced by Alina Solodnikova, Jessie Deeter, and Scott Holroyd; executive produced by Adam McKay, Todd Schulman, Cullen Hoback, and Taylor Jones. For HBO: executive producers Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Tina Nguyen.
Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery holds its Los Angeles premiere Monday night, on the eve of the HBO debut. Watch the trailer here: