The identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder is the subject of endless and dedicated speculation among the hardcore crypto crowd, and for good reason: the mystery truly is enticing. While the oft-cited candidates are many, there’s something special about avid runner, cypherpunk and early Bitcoin contributor Harold Thomas Finney II, better known simply as Hal, that makes people want to believe he’s the one. All wishful thinking aside, though, an examination of the facts is illuminating.
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Caltech and Crypto Beginnings
Finney graduated from world-renowned Caltech with an engineering degree in 1979. After working in computer game development for some years he then went on join the PGP Corporation, creating some of the first “pretty good privacy” the world had seen. Finney was an OG cypherpunk, a member of the early 90s mailing list and avid developer and philosopher when it came to crypto solutions for preserving privacy, anonymity and financial autonomy.
Among his pre-Bitcoin accomplishments are the creation of the first known anonymous remailer and a 2004 reusable proofs of work (RPOW) digital cash system. He also famously received the first ever bitcoin transaction directly from Satoshi. These basic facts are impressive enough, but it stands to take a more detailed look at some coincidences and other nuggets that could shed light on whether there’s truly a case to be made for Hal as Nakamoto. First though, a quote from Finney via a 1992 cypherpunks email:
Here we are faced with the problems of loss of privacy, creeping computerization, massive databases, more centralization – and Chaum offers a completely different direction to go in, one which puts power into the hands of individuals rather than
