Crypto bettors on blockchain-based prediction platform Polymarket are actively trading on the outcome of HBO’s upcoming documentary that claims to reveal the identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

According to the platform’s data, the market “Who will HBO doc identify as Satoshi?” has quickly become one of Polymarket’s top 10 most-traded markets for the month.

Despite being live for less than a week, daily trade volume has already reached $2.5 million, attracting 1,778 users as of Oct. 7, based on figures from Dune Analytics.

In addition, Polymarket’s data indicates that significant bets are being placed, with the pool amassing more than $15 million in wagers.

However, as speculation intensifies about the documentary’s claims, crypto bettors remain divided about who will be identified as Bitcoin’s elusive creator.

The platform’s data shows that bettors are focusing on several key figures, including Nick Szabo, Len Sassaman, Adam Back, David Kleiman, and Hal Finney. Each of these individuals has notable odds of being revealed as Nakamoto.

The HBO documentary is scheduled to air on Oct. 9 at 2:00 A.M. UTC.

Sassaman’s odds fall below 10%

When the market opened on Oct. 4, Len Sassaman led with odds as high as 68%. At the time, many bettors pointed to his cryptographic expertise, use of British English, and connections to the late Hal Finney, an early Bitcoin user and another potential Satoshi candidate.

In addition, Sassaman’s work on privacy technologies, which closely mirror Bitcoin’s design, further fueled these speculations.

However, his odds have since plunged following comments by the documentary’s director, Cullen Hoback, suggesting that Satoshi Nakamoto may still be alive. Due to this, some bettors ruled out Sassaman, who passed away in 2011.

Sassaman’s widow, Meredith Patterson, also reportedly revealed that HBO never contacted her for the documentary, adding to the skepticism. His close friend, former roommate, and creator of Chia, Bram Cohen, further cast doubt, stating that Sassaman lacked the technical skills to develop Bitcoin. However, in a recent podcast, he alluded to the possibility of Satoshi being a collaboration between Finney and Sassaman, stating Finney had the technical ability and Sassman the writing skills.

Despite this, some bettors still consider Sassaman a potential candidate, though his odds have now fallen below 10%.

Szabo takes the lead

While Sassaman’s odds have diminished, many bettors now believe Satoshi could be Nick Szabo, an American computer scientist.

Szabo, who developed the Bitcoin precursor BitGold, currently holds 13.2% of the betting odds. BitGold never officially launched, but many see it as an influential precursor to Bitcoin. Its design included peer-to-peer networking, proof-of-work mining, and cryptography—concepts later incorporated into Bitcoin.

This connection often places Szabo at the center of discussions about Satoshi Nakamoto. However, Szabo has consistently denied being the mysterious creator of Bitcoin.

The post Chia founder alludes to Finney, Sassaman collab as Nick Szabo leads Polymarket bets for HBO Satoshi doc appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, released a snapshot of its financials in its monthly proof of reserves report. According to the report, the exchange’s user assets are down from the last month. The exchange’s largest holdings are BTC, ETH and USDT.

Binance reported having 596,113.426 BTC in its custody held on behalf of the exchange’s users. The figures represent a 1.58% decline in clients’ BTC holdings from the previous report dated September 1st. 

Binance’s ETH holdings dip by 1.37%

Binace’s proof of reserves report revealed the exchange holds 4.425 million ETH. The ETH figures are also down 1.37% from September’s snapshot. Binance’s user USDT holdings settled at 21.41 billion. The reported figures are down 3.16% from before.

The exchange also has user funds in other crypto assets, including Binance Coin BNB, Solana, First Digital Labs’ stablecoin FDUSD, Ripple’s XRP, and Circle’s stablecoin USDC. Binance’s BNB holdings are at 42.572 million, up from 40.707 million recorded in September.

The exchange’s Solana holdings were reported to settle at 32.4 million coins. These figures indicate the assets are down from September’s snapshot of 32.892 million. The report also revealed that Binance users held FDUSD stablecoin, with the asset’s net balances totaling 2.177 billion. The previous report denotes a decline in FDUSD balances from 2.225 billion.

October’s proof of reserves report highlighted that the exchange holds 2.921 billion XRP. The XRP figures have dipped since September’s snapshot, which showed that the exchange had 2.756 billion XRP. Circle’s USDC holdings declined from the 1.518 billion to 1.497 billion in the latest report.

OKX publishes its 23rd proof of reserve report

Proof of reserves are reports published by third-party auditors after a comprehensive analysis of a crypto company. Publishing proof of reserves has been an industry standard for crypto exchanges ever since the FTX exchange collapsed due to mismanagement of user funds. The FTX bankruptcy painted an ugly picture of crypto as a playground for dishonest participants, including executives and owners of crypto entities such as exchanges.

OKX Exchange also published its 23rd proof of reserves snapshot on September 16th. The report revealed the exchange held a majority of its holdings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether’s USDT, Circle’s USDC, Ripple’s XRP, Dogecoin’s DOGE, Solana’s SOL, and OKB.

According to the snapshot, OKX reported having 136,211 BTC and 1.597 million Ethereum. OKX was also revealed to have 5.862 billion USDT in its custody. 

The exchange’s USDC holdings settled at 1.071 billion, and those of XRP stood at 227.7 million. The exchange reported Solana and Dogecoin holdings as 3.6 million and 3.852 billion, respectively. On the other hand, the exchange’s report indicates OKX holds 194.6 million OKB coins.