The crypto community is eagerly waiting for the release of an HBO documentary titled “Money Electric, The Bitcoin Mystery.” Some believe that the documentary might reveal the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin.

The crypto traders are electrified, with nearly $5 million wagered on various predictions through platforms like Polymarket.

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

Len Sassaman, a key figure within the cypherpunk movement, emerges as a top contender. Currently, Polymarket odds suggest a 38% chance that Sassaman will be identified as Nakamoto. Crypto analyst Hitesh Malviya points to several compelling connections between Sassaman and the pseudonymous inventor.

Read more: Satoshi Nakamoto – Who is the Founder of Bitcoin?

Sassaman, whose death came just 88 days after Nakamoto’s last known communication on April 23, 2011, was a pivotal advocate for cryptography and privacy.

“Len Sassaman, a young cypherpunk, took his own life, marking the end of a brilliant mind dedicated to user privacy and open knowledge,” Malviya wrote.

His passing coincided with a period of significant mourning within the cypherpunk community, which fervently supports the principles of anonymous digital communication and currency—the very foundations of Bitcoin. Moreover, the cypherpunk community paid him homage on the Bitcoin Block 138,725, mined 27 days after Sassaman’s death.

The Bitcoin block featured art in Sassaman’s memory, cementing his legacy within the blockchain.

Furthermore, Sassaman’s connection with Hal Finney, another Satoshi candidate, adds depth to the narrative. Finney, who received the first Bitcoin transaction, collaborated closely with Sassaman on numerous cryptographic challenges. Both shared the use of British English in their writings—a notable characteristic of Nakamoto’s communications.

Additionally, an analysis of Sassaman’s Twitter activity shows a pattern that mirrors the timing of Satoshi’s code commits, suggesting synchronized late-night development sessions.

Read more: Who Owns the Most Bitcoin in 2024?

Meme Coin Speculations

With the documentary’s release imminent, the crypto community has embraced Sassaman’s legacy in novel ways. Over the past week, meme coins inspired by Sassaman and even his cats, Sasha and Odin, have proliferated across networks like Ethereum and Solana. In fact, some of the meme coins have achieved market capitalizations of over $10 million.

This flurry of activity highlights Sassaman’s profound impact on cryptography and digital privacy, bolstering his case as a potential Satoshi Nakamoto. While the documentary may or may not conclusively unveil Nakamoto’s identity, the narrative surrounding Sassaman ensures his contributions will not be overlooked.

The general sentiment behind the XRP price has been divided between market participants in recent months. Recent market dynamics have seen many investors adopting a negative outlook for the cryptocurrency’s price, especially considering its failure to break into new heights above $0.6. Furthermore, this negative outlook has been recently exacerbated by news of the SEC’s appeal of the judgement of the Ripple-SEC lawsuit. 

One notable analyst who has adopted a negative outlook on XRP is Max Keiser. According to him, the XRP rally that members of the community are waiting for is never going to happen.  

Bitcoin Maximalist Says XRP Price Rally Isn’t Going To Happen

Max Keiser is a strong Bitcoin maximalist known for his stance on Bitcoin being the only legitimate cryptocurrency. Keiser has been known to criticize many altcoins, and XRP isn’t just the only one. Recently, he noted on social media platform X that Solana has already reached its all-time high against Bitcoin, and he predicts a downward trajectory for the asset moving forward.

However, Keiser’s latest comment regarding XRP has come amid trying times for the cryptocurrency. With the current situation, the XRP price seems to be back under the pressure brought about by the prolonged lawsuit involving the SEC and Ripple, its creator. This is because the SEC has now filed an appeal against Judge Torres’ ruling in the Ripple case. 

Alongside his critical commentary on XRP, Keiser shared a video on social media depicting a bird repeatedly failing to catch a worm in its beak. He drew a parallel between the bird’s futile attempts and XRP holders who have been waiting so long for an XRP price rally. The video ended with the bird failing to capture the beak, meaning Kaiser believes XRP holders are never going to be able to capture an XRP rally.

Current State Of XRP

The recent settlement ruled by Judge Torres was initially seen as a major breakthrough in favor of Ripple, bringing renewed hope to XRP investors. However, the SEC’s subsequent decision to appeal the ruling has reignited uncertainty and cast a shadow over the future of the XRP price, dampening optimism once again. 

Unsurprisingly, the news of the SEC appeal sent the price of XRP spiraling downwards. On-chain data shows that this price drop was kickstarted by some XRP whales moving their assets into crypto exchanges, probably in moves to sell them off.

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at $0.5413, reflecting a 1.8% gain over the last 24 hours. However, the cryptocurrency has shed a significant portion of its market cap over the past week, losing 16.17% in the last seven days. This, in turn, pushed XRP below stablecoin USDC in market cap rankings. 

Max Keiser isn’t the first Bitcoin maximalist to provide a negative outlook on XRP. Other analysts have labeled the cryptocurrency as dead in the past. Despite this, the XRP community has enough bullish advocates to go around. According to one analyst, technical analysis shows that the XRP price chart is signaling an explosive rally in the macro timeframe despite the SEC appeal.

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

According to the latest report from New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), Bitcoin continues to stand out as the best-performing asset in 2024. Additionally, Q4 is expected to remain positive for Bitcoin’s price, despite facing various challenges.

The report also said that Bitcoin has a lot of momentum to continue to increase in Q4.

Bitcoin Maintains a 49.2% Increase in 2024

Despite a large 30% decline in Q3, Bitcoin has so far managed to stay above $60,000. When compared to other assets in 2024, its performance far surpasses that of precious metals and stocks, with a 49.2% year-to-date increase. In contrast, silver has risen by 30.6% and gold by 26.5%.

Read more: Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction 2024/2025/2030

However, in Q3 alone, Bitcoin’s gains were modest, lagging behind traditional assets with just a 2.5% increase. This dip is attributed to selling pressure from governments during Q3, which stirred concerns among investors.

“At play during the quarter was the (near) resolution of numerous bankruptcies, including the long-running Mt Gox bankruptcy, which saw billions in BTC returned to creditors. The US government and German authorities (BKA) were also notable sellers during the quarter,” NYDIG reports.

Reasons for Optimism About Bitcoin’s Q4 Performance

Despite this, the report remains optimistic about Bitcoin’s outlook in Q4. The bullish forecast is based on several key factors:

• Political Support: Both presidential candidates, Trump and Harris, have shown a more open stance towards the crypto industry. Regardless of who wins, crypto investors could benefit.
• Increased Correlation with Stocks: Bitcoin’s 90-day correlation with US equities continued to rise in Q3, ending the quarter at 0.46. This suggests Bitcoin’s growing role in portfolio diversification.
• Rising Global M2 Money Supply: The continued rise of global M2 money supply to new highs could benefit Bitcoin as it thrives under loose monetary policies.

“If Bitcoin continues following the trajectory of global M2 money supply, it’s heading to $90,000 before the end of the year,” Investor Joe Consorti predicts

Additionally, other signals reinforce the bullish case for Bitcoin in Q4. Bitcoin ETFs continue to increase their BTC holdings, while major companies like MicroStrategy and Marathon Digital show no signs of slowing down their Bitcoin accumulation.

Read more: How To Trade a Bitcoin ETF: A Step-by-Step Approach

Historical data reveals that Bitcoin often posts average gains of over 81% in Q4, with the price closing in the green in 7 of the past 11 years.