Bitcoin (BTC) The community is celebrating the anniversary of the January 10, 2009 post in which cypherpunk and Bitcoin pioneer Hal Finney told the world that he was running the Bitcoin Node software.
“We’re running Bitcoin,” Finney said on X (formerly known as Twitter). Finney was the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction on the network.
He was born on May 4, 1956, pursued a career in computer science and cryptography, and was one of the first to respond to the publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto.
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Satoshi sent Finney 10 BTCworth more than $900,500 in today’s prices, was also one of the earliest contacts with Nakamoto, leading to speculation that Finney was actually Satoshi Nakamoto.
Unfortunately, Finney passed away in 2014 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative neurological disease that gradually impairs motor function. He was 58 years old.
Finney’s 2009 post is now central to Bitcoin lore and marks the early stages of a decentralized peer-to-peer electronic cash network.
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Is Hal Finney Satoshi? speculation continues
In 2024, the media network HBO aired a documentary series titled: Money Electric: The Mystery of Bitcoinclaimed to have discovered Nakamoto’s true identity.
The documentary spurred debate over Satoshi’s true identity, with some claiming that Finney was Satoshi due to his skill set, several published cryptographic research papers, and being the first person to be awarded cryptography. BTC From Satoshi.
Laszlo Hanyecz, developer famous for being the first to use BTC Send 10,000 in commerce BTC Two Pizzas Previously, it was said that Satoshi was not familiar with Mac OS, Apple’s operating system for computers.
Polymarket odds on who HBO will cast to play Satoshi. sauce: Polymarket
According to Finney’s 2010 online postings, he and his wife both owned Mac OS computers.
Jameson Ropp, co-founder of crypto asset management company Casa, also provided evidence in 2023 that cast doubt on Finney’s identity as Satoshi.
Finney ran a marathon race during an email exchange between Satoshi and another software developer.
Ropp said the final email, sent about two minutes before Finney crossed the finish line, was definitive proof that Finney was not Satoshi.
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