Bitcoin and me (Hal Finney)

[iyemroker]

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]

I hope to be like you, you are very patient, try and think positively ahead.

and you always put the family first, hopefully my family and I can be like you.

thanks for your suggestion to us all in this forum.

[1714974916]

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[1714974916]

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[david tien]

Rest In Peace Hal Finney. Thanks for everything you've done. Bitcoin community will never forget you.

[luis sagna14]

I am left awestruck and deeply inspired by your story and its significance for the larger chain of events of all things bitcoin. In fear of exaggerating, I will only say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contribution.
Keep up the fight

[Gleb Gamow]

I am left awestruck and deeply inspired by your story and its significance for the larger chain of events of all things bitcoin. In fear of exaggerating, I will only say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contribution.
Keep up the fight

Hal's dead, going on four years now. ✓

Newbie ain't got no clue, yet makes bank for his reply thanks to sig campaign participation. ✓

[nvt2511]

in any case I am crying...right after studying his yr old publish...well being is wealth...it has to be seasoned to know the meaning of this proverb..if there is god I would like he cures this gentleman of his disease..

[jennygamilo]

i consider bitcoin as a hobby , anothe hope road to wealth

[Dmitry.Vastov]

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]

Now I feel very much comfortable with bitcoin and me and bitcoins, now I feels HD a very deep connection, I have earned sufficient with the bitcoin and only bitcoin has enabled me to be self dependent and now I can bear my almost all expenses by my own only. Though the flactuating valution has horrid me a lot and I always have fear of losing my money but bitcoin never let me to lose my faith over bitcoin and I always continue enjoying bitcoin.

[Gleb Gamow]

in any case I am crying...right after studying his yr old publish...well being is wealth...it has to be seasoned to know the meaning of this proverb..if there is god I would like he cures this gentleman of his disease..

Hal's dead, going on four years now. ✓

Newbie ain't got no clue, yet makes bank for his reply thanks to sig campaign participation. ✓

[baho11]

Bitcoin and me would be good because Im gonna used this practically  for our life . This would be  great and pleasure to my life and to my family .I believed that bitcoin will change my life in the near future .

[zhundy]

Yes it is a really great story. You are dedicated to your work. it has really made me very emotional. I really admire those who work hard for their work. They have a lot of patience and passion for work as well as their life. I thank you for your contribution to Bitcoin. Without you and your colleagues, I did not know about Bitcoin. once again thank you very much.

[Gleb Gamow]

Yes it is a really great story. You are dedicated to your work. it has really made me very emotional. I really admire those who work hard for their work. They have a lot of patience and passion for work as well as their life. I thank you for your contribution to Bitcoin. Without you and your colleagues, I did not know about Bitcoin. once again thank you very much.

Hal's dead, going on four years now. ✓

Newbie ain't got no clue, yet makes bank for his reply thanks to sig campaign participation. ✓

[dario.93]

I was scrolling down all the threads on this forum and I am so glad I ran into your story. It is absolutely amazing that you decided to share it with us and tell us how it all started.

[Wiliam88]

It's an honor to be part of a community which you took part in bringing to life. Rest easy, Hal.

[elwiswoodie]

your story really inspires my life,
I read word for word to get carried away
my heart is in control with the story you bring
and I just want to say: Congratulations

[Dvmd lionel25]

I'm supporting Hal to receive the Blue Crypto Award posthumously.

[Rubble898zaitO]

This is the best post I have read so far, truly inspirational and beautiful. Thank you for sharing and for all that you did for Bitcoin, your passion, hard work and attitude towards life and all the things it brings may it be good or bad is really incredible. Again with high regards and respect, thank you, Hal.

[hitrawal91]

Well, this post is really good and must read for all the beginners and also for traders who are struggling out here in this forum. Actually, I was on to this post accidentally when I was searching for some truly inspiring post and then I saw this one. Thanks for sharing your fascinating story which will keep us inspiring on a timely basis and also you are lucky enough to be an early member and so don't worry about the contribution there many people to help and i will try my best to help you sir  .

[Cita1]

Bitcoin and me would be good because Im gonna used this practically  for our life . This would be  great and pleasure to my life and to my family .I believed that bitcoin will change my life in the near future .

A great inspiration to all bitcoin users. This helps keep people motivated in there bitcoin journeys. There are those who have failed and stand up again. there are those who are successful and help people to be like them. Bitcoin really changes everyone's lives.

[rubitok]

everyone has their own story
my wife created a situation in which if I had not sold bitcoins - today would be a multi-billionaire!

[threegods]

I happened to be looking at some old coffee orders and came across one from Hal back at the beginning of 2012. Thanks again, Hal, for encouraging me to do my part for the Bitcoin economy. You will be missed.