Hal Finney

Hal Finney was not a young rebel. He was a 53-year-old cryptographer who had spent his career working on privacy software, most notably as a lead developer on PGP — the most widely used email encryption system in the world.

When Satoshi posted the Bitcoin whitepaper to the cypherpunk mailing list in October 2008, Hal was one of the few people who immediately understood what he was reading. He responded publicly with one of the earliest messages of support: “Bitcoin seems to be a very promising idea.”

On January 9, 2009 — six days after the Genesis Block — Hal downloaded the Bitcoin software and started running it. Three days later, on January 12, Satoshi sent him 10 Bitcoin. The first ever Bitcoin transaction between two people.

Hal continued working with Satoshi in those early days — testing the software, finding bugs, suggesting improvements. He was one of perhaps a handful of people on earth who understood what they were building.

In 2009, Hal was diagnosed with ALS — a progressive neurodegenerative disease. He continued working on Bitcoin from his computer as long as he physically could, eventually losing the ability to move but continuing to code using eye-tracking software.

Hal Finney died on August 28, 2014. His body was cryogenically preserved — a decision consistent with a man who had spent his life believing that technology could extend what was possible.

His final Bitcoin forum post, written shortly before his death, described what it had been like to be present at the beginning of something that might change the world.

“Fascinating,” he wrote. “And maybe a little frightening.”

Tomorrow: why Satoshi’s disappearance was not abandonment — it was the final act of genius.

— The Daily Bit