What happened to Bitcoin’s Satoshi? New token-funded film aims to find out

More than 13 years after Bitcoin debuted, the question still remains: Who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the first and largest cryptocurrency? Many have tried and failed to find out definitively over the years, but a documentary is planning to explore the phenomenon once more with a new film funded through a Avalanche-based platform.

White Paper Films and director Chris Cannucciari announced today that they will raise funds to film “I Am Not Satoshi,” a feature-length documentary that aims to provide a complete insight into the search. Cannucciari is the director behind the 2016 documentary, “Banking on Bitcoin.”

“I Am Not Satoshi” will highlight the crypto world’s hunt for Satoshi, who went silent not long after Bitcoin’s launch and hasn’t been heard from in years. The film will highlight some of the applicants’ theories about the person (or persons) behind the pseudonym, but will also explore why some believe Satoshi should remain unknown.

“The film relies on the words of Bitcoin’s early adopters, journalists and Satoshi’s mentors to guide us through the mystery,” Cannucciari said in a release. “Experts and witnesses will help us understand the events leading up to and after Satoshi’s disappearance. Our goal is to tell this story before the story becomes a myth.”

The film will be financed through the investment platform Republic on Avalanche using the Film Finance Offering (FFO) framework developed by Ava Labs. Supporters will be able to purchase tokens to help bring the film to life, and Ava Labs expects to see a number of other filmmakers use the platform to fund their own future projects.

“I Am Not Satoshi” marks Avalanche’s first step into growth Web3 movie world, with tokens and NFT collectibles used to help crowdfund movies. Avalanche is and has been a network built for decentralized apps, games and NFTs billed as one of many potentials “Ethereum killers.”

Decentralized Pictures and FF3 are among the platforms that have appeared to exploit Web3 technology to help filmmakers. Upcoming documentary “Ethereum: The Infinite Garden” was crowdfunded through a token salewhile a film adaptation of Camila Russo’s book “The Infinite Machine” has been financed through NFT sales.