The enduring mystery of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, is set for a high-stakes Hollywood interpretation. “Killing Satoshi,” a conspiracy thriller, is in development with a formidable creative team, signaling mainstream cultural and financial interest in the foundational story of the nearly $4 trillion digital asset industry.
Helming the project is Doug Liman, the director behind blockbuster action and drama films such as “The Bourne Identity,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” and “Swingers.” The film is set to star Oscar-winner Casey Affleck alongside Pete Davidson, with a screenplay penned by Nick Schenk, known for his work on Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” and “The Mule.” This creative pedigree suggests the film is aiming for a tone that blends intelligent action with compelling character drama, much like “The Social Network,” a comparison drawn by the film’s producer.
The narrative will reportedly delve into the creation of Bitcoin and the subsequent efforts by what is described as an “elite cabal” to suppress the truth behind its origins. “I love David and Goliath stories,” Liman stated, framing the film as a story of “unlikely antiheroes taking on the most powerful people on the planet in an epic battle that strikes at the core of what is money and who controls it.”
Underpinning the on-screen drama is the very real, and very large, financial enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto. The creator, who vanished from the internet in 2011, is believed to control wallets containing approximately 1,1 million BTC. At current market values, this fortune is worth an estimated $122.000.000.000, representing one of the largest untraced private fortunes in modern history and the ultimate digital-age MacGuffin.
The film is being produced by a team that includes Ryan Kavanaugh, the former CEO of Relativity Media. Kavanaugh, who once planned a token to fund film projects, compared the film’s exploratory nature to that of “The Social Network” and its examination of Facebook’s genesis. “This is not just a movie about Bitcoin… but really about what it stands for,” he remarked.
Production for “Killing Satoshi” is scheduled to begin in October in London, with a planned global release in 2026. While documentaries and investigations have so far failed to definitively unmask the creator, Hollywood’s dramatic lens may be what solidifies the legend of Satoshi Nakamoto in the public consciousness.
