Running Bitcoin with Fran Finney - WBD754

Mr Obnoxious

Peter McCormack

Technology, News, Politics, Money, Investing, Finance, Bitcoin

4.8 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2023

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Fran Finney is the widow of the legendary Hal Finney, who received the first Bitcoin transaction. In this interview, we discuss her husband's impact, their life together, and his battle with ALS. We also talk about the importance of Bitcoin, the challenges Hal and her faced due to harassment, and the concept of cryopreservation. The conversation also touches on the significance of fundraising for ALS research and how the Bitcoin community can contribute to this cause.

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Hal Finney was not only the first person to receive a Bitcoin transaction (Satoshi sent him 10 Bitcoins in January 2009 as a test), he was also the first person after Satoshi to download and run Bitcoin software. Hal came across the Bitcoin whitepaper through a Cypherpunks mailing list. As a champion of personal privacy, he saw the potential for Bitcoin to provide for censorship-resistant transactions.

Driven by his concerns about government overreach in the digital age, Hal became a pioneer in the world of cryptography, gaining recognition for his part in the development of PGP. He was also part of a band of cypherpunks trying to develop a new form of money providing personal sovereignty. Hal co-authored the first paper detailing the concept of reusable cryptographic proofs of work, which would later be adapted in Bitcoin.

Hal famously walked away from Bitcoin for a full year. During that time he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Despite the debilitating nature of the disease, Finney continued to work tirelessly on Bitcoin's development until his passing on August 28, 2014. His untimely death left behind a legacy of innovation and a lasting impact on the foundation of the digital currency landscape.

Despite his personal struggles, Hal Finney's intellect and relentless pursuit of knowledge cemented his place as a legendary figure in the world of cryptography and Bitcoin. In this podcast, I talk to Fran Finney, who is tirelessly committed to honouring his memory by raising funds for ALS victims and advocating for increased understanding of the disease.

ALS Golden West Running Bitcoin Challenge

Join the WBD Team - ALS Golden West Running Bitcoin Challenge

Show notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/running-bitcoin-with-fran-finney

This episode’s sponsors:
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Wasabi Wallet - Privacy by default
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Transcript

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0:00.0	I think it would be incredible if the Bitcoin community was the community that made the
0:06.6	difference with ALS that was able to actually change things so that it doesn't afflict people and end people's lives in such a horrible
0:18.4	way that the way it did for how.
0:20.8	Hello there, how are you all doing it is the final show of the year can't believe it's
0:26.1	been another massive year we've made so many good shows spoke to so many good
0:30.5	people travel to so many amazing places.
0:32.8	Malawi, Kenya, we've been to Ghana,
0:35.8	we've been out to Lebanon.
0:38.4	It's been a crazy, crazy year, but I've loved it.
0:41.2	Anyway, welcome to the What Bitcoin did podcast, which is brought to you by the
0:44.1	massive legends at RS Energy, the largest NASDAQ listed Bitcoin miner, using 100% renewable energy.
0:50.1	I'm your host, Peter McCormack, and today we've got a very special show to end the year so back in October
0:55.0	Danny and I were out in LA and we had the opportunity to sit down with Fran Finney
0:59.0	the wife of legendary Bitcoin OG how Finney Now we got into all sorts in this episode.
1:04.4	We talked about how Fran and how Met,
1:06.6	their life together, his interest in Bitcoin,
1:09.0	and then his battle with ALS.
1:11.3	So in honor of Howe and to raise money and awareness for ALS, Fran is again putting on the running Bitcoin challenge, which starts on January the third. Now we have created a What Bitcoin team. If you want to join us you want to join the
1:23.2	challenge just head over to tiny u-rrrrul.com forward slash w bd d s running dash
1:29.6	Bitcoin that is a mouthful so it will be in the show knows I I'm going to be doing it and I'm probably going to be wearing one of my railbed for shirts. I don't know if you've seen it, but we have running Bitcoin on the back of our shirts in honor of how we've had them since we started. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. It was an absolute honor to get
1:44.2	Fran on the show. It's a pleasure to talk about how and yeah, just a nice way to end the year.
1:49.6	If you've got any feedback on the show, you've got any questions, you want to hit me up,
	...

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