17 Years On and Hal Finney’s ‘Running Bitcoin’ Post Is Still Celebrated

The Bitcoin (BTC) community is celebrating the anniversary of cypherpunk and Bitcoin pioneer Hal Finney’s post on January 10, 2009, telling the world that he was running the Bitcoin node software

“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, and pursued a career in computer science and cryptography, and was one of the first people to respond to Satoshi Nakamoto’s publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper. 

Satoshi sent Finney 10 BTC, valued at over $900,500 at today’s prices, and was also one of the earliest individuals in contact with Nakamoto, which has led to speculation that Finney is actually Satoshi Nakamoto. 

Unfortunately, Finney passed away in 2014 to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative neurological illness that gradually breaks down motor functions. He was 58 years old. 

The 2009 post from Finney is now a core piece of Bitcoin lore, marking the earliest phases of the decentralized peer-to-peer electronic cash network. 

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Is Hal Finney Satoshi? The speculation continues

In 2024, media network HBO aired a documentary series titled Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, which claimed to have discovered Nakamoto’s identity.

The documentary spurred debate about the true identity of Satoshi, with some arguing that Finney was Satoshi based on his skill set, several published cryptography research papers, and being the first person to receive BTC from Satoshi.

Laszlo Hanyecz, a developer famous for being the first individual to use BTC in a commercial transaction by sending 10,000 BTC for two pizzas, previously said that Satoshi was not familiar with Mac OS, Apple’s operating system for computers. 

Both Finney and his wife owned Mac OS computers, according to a 2010 online post from Finney.

Jameson Lopp, co-founder of crypto custody company Casa, also presented evidence in 2023 casting doubt on Finney being Satoshi.

Finney ran a marathon race during a back-and-forth email string between Satoshi and another software developer.

The last email was sent about two minutes before Finney crossed the finish line — decisive evidence that Finney was not Satoshi, according to Lopp.

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