Bitcoin and me (Hal Finney)

[Fredyink]

That was heavy. Great to read and to learn something quite exceptional.

RIP

Your work remains...

[1713569396]

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[mrtryonebiggums]

No kidding, that hit me right in the feels and I even teared up a bit at the end there. Despite the crap that came your way, amazing to know you enjoyed coding and everything else to the end, you are a true hero .

[FrontierObscura]

There is no way he was not person we all think he probably is 

[sbrys]

Just found this post when creating a 'Blockchain for dummies' presentation for my co workers in Finance. Breathtaking...

[Vlad2Vlad]

Yes Finney was online:    Last Active:   March 29, 2017, 09:22:58 PM

means someone has access to his account?

Might be his family or smth, or mb its Satoshi 

Anw RIP Hal, thanks for giving us your wisdom 

I personally think it’s his son, Jason.

But why? 

[DenisenkoMaria3571]

Invest It can be burned down here, but you invest a small amount that You can let go.

[valentinen39]

I thought I'd write about the last four years, an eventful time for Bitcoin and me.

For those who don't know me, I'm Hal Finney. I got my start in crypto working on an early version of PGP, working closely with Phil Zimmermann. When Phil decided to start PGP Corporation, I was one of the first hires. I would work on PGP until my retirement. At the same time, I got involved with the Cypherpunks. I ran the first cryptographically based anonymous remailer, among other activities.

Fast forward to late 2008 and the announcement of Bitcoin. I've noticed that cryptographic graybeards (I was in my mid 50's) tend to get cynical. I was more idealistic; I have always loved crypto, the mystery and the paradox of it.

When Satoshi announced Bitcoin on the cryptography mailing list, he got a skeptical reception at best. Cryptographers have seen too many grand schemes by clueless noobs. They tend to have a knee jerk reaction.

I was more positive. I had long been interested in cryptographic payment schemes. Plus I was lucky enough to meet and extensively correspond with both Wei Dai and Nick Szabo, generally acknowledged to have created ideas that would be realized with Bitcoin. I had made an attempt to create my own proof of work based currency, called RPOW. So I found Bitcoin facinating.

When Satoshi announced the first release of the software, I grabbed it right away. I think I was the first person besides Satoshi to run bitcoin. I mined block 70-something, and I was the recipient of the first bitcoin transaction, when Satoshi sent ten coins to me as a test. I carried on an email conversation with Satoshi over the next few days, mostly me reporting bugs and him fixing them.

Today, Satoshi's true identity has become a mystery. But at the time, I thought I was dealing with a young man of Japanese ancestry who was very smart and sincere. I've had the good fortune to know many brilliant people over the course of my life, so I recognize the signs.

After a few days, bitcoin was running pretty stably, so I left it running. Those were the days when difficulty was 1, and you could find blocks with a CPU, not even a GPU. I mined several blocks over the next days. But I turned it off because it made my computer run hot, and the fan noise bothered me. In retrospect, I wish I had kept it up longer, but on the other hand I was extraordinarily lucky to be there at the beginning. It's one of those glass half full half empty things.

The next I heard of Bitcoin was late 2010, when I was surprised to find that it was not only still going, bitcoins actually had monetary value. I dusted off my old wallet, and was relieved to discover that my bitcoins were still there. As the price climbed up to real money, I transferred the coins into an offline wallet, where hopefully they'll be worth something to my heirs.

Speaking of heirs, I got a surprise in 2009, when I was suddenly diagnosed with a fatal disease. I was in the best shape of my life at the start of that year, I'd lost a lot of weight and taken up distance running. I'd run several half marathons, and I was starting to train for a full marathon. I worked my way up to 20+ mile runs, and I thought I was all set. That's when everything went wrong.

My body began to fail. I slurred my speech, lost strength in my hands, and my legs were slow to recover. In August, 2009, I was given the diagnosis of ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, after the famous baseball player who got it.

ALS is a disease that kills moter neurons, which carry signals from the brain to the muscles. It causes first weakness, then gradually increasing paralysis. It is usually fatal in 2 to 5 years. My symptoms were mild at first and I continued to work, but fatigue and voice problems forced me to retire in early 2011. Since then the disease has continued its inexorable progression.

Today, I am essentially paralyzed. I am fed through a tube, and my breathing is assisted through another tube. I operate the computer using a commercial eyetracker system. It also has a speech synthesizer, so this is my voice now. I spend all day in my power wheelchair. I worked up an interface using an arduino so that I can adjust my wheelchair's position using my eyes.

It has been an adjustment, but my life is not too bad. I can still read, listen to music, and watch TV and movies. I recently discovered that I can even write code. It's very slow, probably 50 times slower than I was before. But I still love programming and it gives me goals. Currently I'm working on something Mike Hearn suggested, using the security features of modern processors, designed to support "Trusted Computing", to harden Bitcoin wallets. It's almost ready to release. I just have to do the documentation.

And of course the price gyrations of bitcoins are entertaining to me. I have skin in the game. But I came by my bitcoins through luck, with little credit to me. I lived through the crash of 2011. So I've seen it before. Easy come, easy go.

That's my story. I'm pretty lucky overall. Even with the ALS, my life is very satisfying. But my life expectancy is limited. Those discussions about inheriting your bitcoins are of more than academic interest. My bitcoins are stored in our safe deposit box, and my son and daughter are tech savvy. I think they're safe enough. I'm comfortable with my legacy.
[edited slightly]

It was very inspirable story for me, i also love programming and i am an i.t. student, i salute those people who are really doing want they want in their life top become successful and government should know this kind of experience where bitcoins is really helping peoples life.

[samantha89]

your post is very good. very inspiring readers, to keep the spirit alive, especially in the economic field.

success for you and us all

[andrew1carlssin]

Yes Finney was online:    Last Active:   March 29, 2017, 09:22:58 PM

means someone has access to his account?

Might be his family or smth, or mb its Satoshi 

Anw RIP Hal, thanks for giving us your wisdom 

I personally think it’s his son, Jason.

But why? 

So do I ... if that hypotheses is true .. I would like to say thanks for sharing the emails between Satoshi and his dad. I would bet my pgp/gpg key that Satoshi is Hal ...but since Hal made a statement saying he is not Satoshi ..then I believe him.

ps-> Besides all his hard work at cryptography community (mentioned by OP) also his work on RFC 4880 is remarkable.

Thanks Hal.   

[ghavoc]

I'm grateful for Hal's contributions and dedication.  Inspirational.  Rest in peace.  Prayers going out to his family and loved ones.

[sbk-kabo]

this man is incredible .. I feel what happened  I hope he rests in peace
This teaches us a lot

[BellaBitBit]

First time I have seen this post, followed it here from Reddit.  How touching and inspiring and what an incredible human being.  Thank you for all that you did for bitcoin, your vision and talents will span decades and possibly centuries.

[Gleb Gamow]

Just  gave +1 sM because Vlad did.

[kakajones25]

Truly an inspiring story:
We need to make the most out of every day, since we never know when our health might no longer be good.

[david tien]

R.I.P. Thank you.
Your knowledge and your name is forever written in the code.

[bukikbarisan]

Seeing you resume a productive life is an inspiration to everyone and, speaking to me so it seems to be a little more trivial and resolvable - double that considering that many of us consider your work interesting before your problem.

I believe people from the Bitcoin ecosystem from various perspectives are very valuable. I am grateful you have chosen to continue to spend time in this field and I hope you will continue to be satisfied.

[STT]

Those who see furthest are standing on the shoulders of giants like this man.     Here is an article written in the LA Times after Hal Finney passed away a few years back.    Its a great legacy he left, in his actions he is an immortal soul now

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-hal-finney-20140831-story.html

[David Van]

We should really lock this thread...he passed away in 2014...RIP Hal...

[Gleb Gamow]

We should really lock this thread...he passed away in 2014...RIP Hal...

Then we can lock Satoshi's threads. Atlas' threads. paraipan's threads. str4wm4n's threads.

[fatema]

I was just browsing the forum only, when I saw these impressive threads.
To write a grateful story for you. At first you looked nice. You can trust for your good. You are enjoying a complementary existence despite facing numerous obstacles. Best wishes for you.