Can anyone make sure the ALS foundation gets their Bitcoins?

[Cryddit]

I'm not on here much any more, but I went to make a donation to the ALS foundation in memory of Hal the other day and noted that the donation address that got set up back in 2014 has 14 BTC in it which nobody ever spent, and the wallet hasn't been touched in years.

https://blockchain.info/address/1JsnZLEGgLJY7rbDdaKTzC2JyvfaKUpF5p

Granted, that was supposed to run until a closing date, and those donations came in after that date, but the wallet that could spend them wouldn't have dropped the key.  Or at least it shouldn't have.

I'm hoping someone at the ALS foundation still has the key?  Or someone who managed the whole thing for them still does?  It would be a real shame, IMO, if that much in donations just got left twisting in the wind.

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[BenOnceAgain]

I'm not on here much any more, but I went to make a donation to the ALS foundation in memory of Hal the other day and noted that the donation address that got set up back in 2014 has 14 BTC in it which nobody ever spent, and the wallet hasn't been touched in years.

https://blockchain.info/address/1JsnZLEGgLJY7rbDdaKTzC2JyvfaKUpF5p

Granted, that was supposed to run until a closing date, and those donations came in after that date, but the wallet that could spend them wouldn't have dropped the key.  Or at least it shouldn't have.

I'm hoping someone at the ALS foundation still has the key?  Or someone who managed the whole thing for them still does?  It would be a real shame, IMO, if that much in donations just got left twisting in the wind.

Hi Cryddit,

I will reach out to the ALS Foundation today and make sure they are aware of their BTC.  I do not have any knowledge of how this was set up but if they have trouble I will get a contact person name/number and send it to you by PM?

Best regards,
Ben

[Cryddit]

See, that's the thing.  If I could help them, I'd certainly have got in touch with them directly.  The only person who can help them is someone who knows how they can get their hands on that key.

[BenOnceAgain]

See, that's the thing.  If I could help them, I'd certainly have got in touch with them directly.  The only person who can help them is someone who knows how they can get their hands on that key.

Oh gotcha, I thought they might have the key, I just sent them this message:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Hello, my name is Ben and I’m contacting you today to make sure you are aware of a fund of Bitcoin that was established in 2014 in the memory of Hal Finney, who was a Bitcoin pioneer.  See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Finney_(computer_scientist)

In 2014 a fund was established in his honor with contributions to be made to your organization.  However, someone noticed on Bitcoin’s ledger that there was a balance of over 14 Bitcoin in the fund (each Bitcoin currently has a US Dollar value of around $7000).  Bitcoin are worth more today than they were in 2014.  Here’s information on that fund: https://bitcoinfoundation.org/join-teamhal-give100-wbitcoin-to-the-hal-finney-bitcoin-fund-for-als-research/

And here’s the balance in the Bitcoin address that was established for that fund: https://blockchain.info/address/1JsnZLEGgLJY7rbDdaKTzC2JyvfaKUpF5p

So I was writing to make sure your organization is aware of the fund and knows how to access those Bitcoin so you could convert them into US Dollars or other funds that you could use to advance your work.

I had no connection to the creation of this fund, but I’m working on figuring out who was involved.  But on your end, maybe someone made you aware of a Bitcoin address and/or a private key?  If you locate the private key (which will be a long series of numbers and letters), secure that and DO NOT TELL ME OR ANYONE ELSE THAT KEY.  It can be thought of as the “combination” that “unlocks” those Bitcoins.

If you do not have the private key, I am going to see if I can find out who does.  If you do have the private key, let me know that you do and I’ll put you in contact with a business that can help you convert those Bitcoin into dollars.

Thanks and have a good day.

Best regards,
Ben

I see a post on the Bitcoin Foundation website about the fund as well as a video.  Maybe they have the key?  I can reach out to them if it would help.

[Cryddit]

That would be an awesome thing to do.  Surely somebody has that wallet.

[BenOnceAgain]

That would be an awesome thing to do.  Surely somebody has that wallet.

I wanted to provide an update on this, was reminded today on reading a tweet about Hal on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArminVanBitcoin/status/978988642923409408

I never heard back from the Bitcoin Foundation's email about the fund/address, so I'm going to reach out to the Board members directly. I also posted on the Twitter thread I linked above.  Hopefully, it will jog someone's memory.  I did just check the address and the coins appear to still be there.

Also did not hear back from the ALS foundation but as I understand it now, they were not direct recipients of BTC and probably didn't have the key, it's likely that someone at the Bitcoin Foundation converted to fiat and sent them the donation in that form.

I will keep you all posted if I learn anything more.  The link to a message from Hal in the tweet above is very powerful.  Read it if you are able, helps to keep things in perspective.

Best,
Ben

[syclone]

Any update on this?

[crazy-pilot]

It is right that we are having all those transaction codes that we can always check, and nobody could not tell you that they love to do in the real world that I didn't get the money and etc, because of transaction hash.

[BenOnceAgain]

Any update on this?

Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything from the Bitcoin Foundation. I just checked my Spam folders to ensure there wasn't something I missed.

The balance in the address (https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/1JsnZLEGgLJY7rbDdaKTzC2JyvfaKUpF5p) is just over 14 BTC. I'm going to see if I can reach out to the Trustees individually, maybe that'll have better luck.

It'd be great for them to send this over to the ALS Foundation.

Best regards,
Ben

[franky1]

I'm going to see if I can reach out to the Trustees individually, maybe that'll have better luck.

https://bitcoinfoundation.org/join-teamhal-give100-wbitcoin-to-the-hal-finney-bitcoin-fund-for-als-research/

In his memory and in support for finding a cure, Erik Voorhees Co-Founder of Coinapult, Jason King of Sean’s Outpost, Roger Ver, BitPay and the Bitcoin Foundation have collaborated to provide a way to donate Bitcoin to ALS research.