Bitcoiners are commemorating the 17th anniversary of Hal Finney’s Jan. 10, 2009 post announcing he was running the Bitcoin node software.
Finney wrote:
“Running Bitcoin.”
Early bitcoiner and first transaction
Finney was a cypherpunk and early Bitcoin pioneer who corresponded with Satoshi Nakamoto soon after the Bitcoin whitepaper was published.
He also received the first Bitcoin transaction on the network, when Satoshi sent him 10 BTC.
At today’s prices, that 10 BTC would be worth more than $900,500.
Finney, born May 4, 1956, later died in 2014 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at age 58.
Why the Satoshi speculation persists
Finney’s proximity to Bitcoin’s launch, his cryptography background, and his early communications with Nakamoto have long fueled claims that he may have been Satoshi.
The 2009 “Running Bitcoin” post has become a core piece of Bitcoin lore tied to the network’s earliest days.
Counterarguments and recent debate
In 2024, HBO aired a documentary series, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, which claimed to have discovered Satoshi’s identity and reignited debate.
Developer Laszlo Hanyecz previously argued Satoshi was not familiar with Mac OS.
Finney and his wife owned Mac computers, according to a 2010 post from Finney.
In 2023, Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp also argued against Finney being Satoshi, citing an email exchange timed around a marathon Finney ran, including a final email sent about two minutes before he crossed the finish line.
