Bitcoin Development and Cryptography by Peter Todd
Peter Todd is a cryptographic engineer and one of Bitcoin’s earliest and most active developers. Since 2012, he has contributed extensively to Bitcoin Core, worked with Coinkite, and developed OpenTimestamps—a decentralized timestamping protocol now deployed in several blockchain compliance tools. Todd also participated in the original trusted setup for Zcash and has published multiple whitepapers on proof-of-work mechanics and network security assumptions.
In 2024, the HBO documentary Money Electric inaccurately named Todd as a potential Satoshi Nakamoto figure. The segment sparked widespread speculation but was publicly dismissed by Todd, who described the attribution as unfounded. The episode spurred over 500,000 new searches of his name and prompted him to restrict public speaking engagements, though he resumed conference participation in Q2 2025, speaking on consensus evolution at the Incrypted Forum and Bitcoin Lugano.
Todd’s continued contributions—spanning from OP_RETURN optimization to RBF protocol discussions—ensure that Bitcoin’s protocol layer retains a focus on security and decentralization fidelity.
Removing hardware wallet re-sellers exposes user addresses, Peter Todd warns
Peter Todd argued that hardware wallet re-sellers are necessary to protect user privacy. He stated that without such re-sellers, central entities gain access to the postal addresses of every ...
Peter Todd: Zcash trusted setup node revisited a decade later at TabConf
Peter Todd participated in an interview with Vlad Costea at TabConf where he opened the remains of the Zcash compute node for the first time since the trusted setup a decade ago. Todd also ...
Banks may block wallet-enabled car charging, Peter Todd writes
Peter Todd argued that it would be straightforward to include Lightning Network (LN) wallets in cars to facilitate granular, fraud-resistant payments for electricity as it is supplied. Todd ...
Peter Todd: Nostr achieves better clarity in cryptographic signature failures than Bitcoin
Peter Todd highlights shortcomings in Bitcoin's cryptographic signature handling, suggesting that using proper cryptographic signatures would have made failures more obvious. He also points out ...
Reliance on Ledger authenticity scheme poses risks, Peter Todd argues
Peter Todd argued that Ledger's reliance on its authenticity signing scheme was problematic because it could not verify if the user interface had been subjected to a man-in-the-middle attack. He ...
Peter Todd: Bitcoin donations support private air defense unit in Ukraine
Peter Todd reports that Ukraine currently has a private air defense unit that is partially funded by Bitcoin. According to Todd, LADA provided a Bitcoin donation to Wilend Hornets, allowing the ...
Bitcoin Core veteran Peter Todd joins MARA Foundation
Bitcoin Core veteran Peter Todd has joined the MARA Foundation as lead maintainer of Slipstream, a private mempool service that allows transactions to be submitted directly to MARA's mining ...
Peter Todd: Becomes lead maintainer of Slipstream at MARA Foundation
Peter Todd has announced he is now the lead maintainer of Slipstream at MARA Foundation. He also plans to give a short talk on private mempools at the upcoming TabConf and highlighted how ...
Kyiv conference center hosted crypto events in 2018, Peter Todd notes
Peter Todd reflects on the significance of a large conference center in Kyiv, noting that it was a major venue for crypto and Bitcoin conferences he attended. He also recalls that this was the ...
Peter Todd: Liquid node software diversity could have prevented 4000BTC theft
Peter Todd argues that while diversity in consensus systems can be risky, an exception applies in the case of Liquid node software. He states that if SideSwap had operated multiple versions and ...
Block validation speed is less critical for centralized systems, Peter Todd notes
Peter Todd highlights that validation processes for systems like Liquid are not significantly impacted by block validation speeds due to their centralized nature. According to Todd, rather than ...
Peter Todd: Replay protection achieved by coinjoining in Wasabi wallet
Peter Todd explains that the easiest way to obtain replay protection is to deposit coins into Wasabi wallet and use @kruw's coordinator to coinjoin them. He notes that all coinjoins performed on ...
Ocean fills important Bitcoin mining role, Peter Todd notes
Peter Todd comments that Ocean serves an important niche in Bitcoin mining. He expresses hope that, following the departure of Luke, the company can continue its specialized role without ...
Peter Todd: Ukrainian military charity accepts lightning donations via bolt12 for supplies
Peter Todd highlights the introduction of lightning network donations, specifically via bolt12, by a Ukrainian military charity. The charity is accepting BTC contributions to purchase snipers, ...
Standardizing encrypted descriptor backups can optimize chain space, Peter Todd argues
Peter Todd argues that wallets should define a standard to back up wallet descriptors to the Bitcoin blockchain in encrypted form, such as using an OP_Return or taproot annex. Todd contends that ...
Peter Todd: Do not store all crypto assets in a single location
Peter Todd advises against putting all cryptocurrency holdings in a single storage location, citing the risks associated with single points of failure. He also warns that exchanges have poor ...
Restricting beneficial ownership data can help protect Bitcoin users, Peter Todd notes
Peter Todd raises concerns about the risks associated with releasing beneficial ownership information, particularly for those trying to protect their privacy in the Bitcoin community. According ...
Peter Todd: Ocean classified as a giant crypto conglomerate after BIP 110 mining event
Peter Todd commented on recent blockchain activity involving the mining of the first two BIP 110 post-activation blocks, highlighting that the effort was quickly overtaken by larger mining ...
High fee transactions appear in BIP-110 block as coins are split, Peter Todd notes
Peter Todd notes that the next BIP-110 block features unusually high-fee transactions as users are cleanly splitting their coins. He provides an example of this activity and highlights the impact ...
Peter Todd: BIP-110 code review finds BTC Core users safe without attack
Peter Todd just published a review of the BIP-110 code. According to Todd, users running Core should not expect any changes unless there is some kind of attack. He adds that replay protection may ...
Bitkey wallet features random chips for security, Peter Todd notes
Peter Todd highlights a subtle security measure found in the Bitkey hardware wallet: random plastic chips are embedded into each unit, ensuring that every device is unique and making replacement ...
