Hal Finney

Hal Finney was a renowned cryptographer who created the Reusable Proof of Work (RPoW) consensus mechanism in 2004, laying the groundwork for Bitcoin’s development. When Satoshi Nakamoto first shared the whitepaper on the cryptography mailing list, Hal was one of the few who did not dismiss it outright. Also, Hal was involved in early development as well, considering the long term implications of the project, including the potential for Bitcoin banks and the future growth of mining possibly leading to a significant carbon footprint. Notably, Hal was involved in the first bitcoin transaction ever, receiving 10 bitcoin from Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin.

Before his involvement with Bitcoin, Hal was one of the original developers working on the encryption software at Pretty Good Privacy Corporation (PGP Corp.), one of the leading corporations for securing digital communications in the early 2000s. Tragically, Hal was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in 2009. Despite his illness, Hal continued his cryptographic research and remained an active advocate for Bitcoin in forums until his passing in 2014.