Understanding the Meme Coin Phenomenon: The Story of Len Sassaman

Key Points

• Len Sassaman-themed memecoins are trending on Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin networks.
• A forthcoming HBO documentary will speculate on the identity of Bitcoin’s creator.

Meme coins themed around Len Sassaman are creating a stir on the Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin networks.

This trend coincides with the anticipation surrounding an upcoming HBO documentary that aims to reveal the identity of Bitcoin’s creator.

The Documentary and Speculations

Filmmaker Cullen Hoback recently announced that his documentary, titled “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” is set to premiere this week.

Interestingly, many believe that Leonard Harris “Len” Sassaman, is the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.

This theory is particularly popular among Polymarket bettors. Other potential candidates for the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto include Hal Finney, Adam Back, Nick Szabo, and Paul Le Roux.

Who Was Len Sassaman?

Len Sassaman was an American cryptographer from Pennsylvania.

In his youth, he moved to San Francisco and became involved in the cypherpunk community, a computer privacy movement that began in the late 1980s.

Sassaman studied under David Chaums, often referred to as the godfather of crypto.

Sassaman, who suffered from depression as a teenager, took his own life at the age of 31.

Prior to his death, he worked on projects such as the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software and its update, GNU Privacy Guard.

Sassaman and his wife, computer scientist Meredith Patterson, founded the SaaS startup Osogato.

Speculation about Sassaman’s connection to Satoshi Nakamoto arose due to the timing of his death and the disappearance of the Bitcoin creator.

Sassaman died on July 3, 2011, while Nakamoto sent his last email to the Bitcoin community on April 13, 2011.

Meme Coins and Len Sassaman

Over the past week, traders have launched Solana and Ethereum-based LEN tokens.

The hype surrounding these tokens has led to a significant increase in their market capitalization.

For instance, a LEN token claiming to be the first issued on Solana saw its market cap rise to $1.6 million.

Traders have also created meme coins around Len Sassaman’s cat Sasha.

The Solana and Ethereum-based SASHA token saw its market cap cross $5 million this past week.

Some members of the crypto community believe these Sassaman-themed altcoins could represent an underpriced market opportunity.

The HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” is set to air on October 8.

According to Polymarket data, Sassaman is the leading candidate for the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, with a probability of 41%.

Finny, Back, and Szabo have odds of 3%, 10%, and 4% respectively.