12 Years Later, Bitcoin Remembers the Man Who Got There First

On August 28, 2014, cryptographer Hal Finney passed away after a five‑year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His death marks the anniversary of a pivotal moment in Bitcoin history: the first recorded bitcoin transaction.

First Bitcoin Transaction

On January 12, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 BTC to Finney. This transfer is widely recognized as the point when digital cash moved from theory to a working network.

Finney’s Technical Background

Finney was an early member of the cypherpunk mailing lists in the 1990s, contributing to the privacy‑focused discourse that influenced Bitcoin’s design. He later became the second employee at PGP Corporation, working on the Pretty Good Privacy encryption software until his retirement in 2011. In 2004, he created Reusable Proofs of Work (RPoW), an experimental system built on Hashcash that anticipated concepts later formalized by Bitcoin.

Living with ALS

Finney publicly disclosed his ALS diagnosis in October 2009, less than a year after receiving the first bitcoin. Despite progressive paralysis, he remained active in the early Bitcoin community, communicating online until his condition rendered him essentially paralyzed by 2013. After his legal death in Phoenix, Arizona, his family carried out pre‑arranged cryopreservation with the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

The Satoshi Identity Question

Finney’s proximity to Bitcoin’s creation, his cryptography expertise, and his Caltech engineering degree have fueled speculation that he might be Satoshi Nakamoto or closely associated with the creator. He consistently denied being Bitcoin’s inventor, and no verifiable evidence has confirmed any identity claim.

Value of the First 10 BTC

Bitcoin’s price recently rose above $80,000, making the 10 BTC sent to Finney in 2009 worth roughly $805,000 at current levels—far beyond what Finney ever witnessed.

Ongoing Legacy

Finney’s contributions to cryptography, his early work on proof‑of‑work systems, and his role as the first bitcoin recipient keep his name central to Bitcoin’s narrative, even twelve years after his passing.