Hal Finney is Suspected of Being Satoshi Himself
The topic that Satoshi Nakamoto may be Hal Finney is actively circulating on X. While businessman Craig Wright is trying in vain to prove to a British court that he is the founder of Bitcoin, the Internet has deemed otherwise.
A thread started by TheBTCTherapist features a photo that says "Satoshi Nakamoto" can be translated as "Hal Finney." After that, social media users once again raised the topic of whether Finney could be the very creator of Bitcoin.
The below photo circulating is claiming “Satoshi Nakamoto” can be translated as “Hal Finey”.
— The ₿itcoin Therapist (@TheBTCTherapist) February 16, 2024
Could Hal Finney be Satoshi Nakamoto, the legendary creator of #Bitcoin? pic.twitter.com/PxDr77uTbt
After the connection to Satoshi went missing in 2010, the crypto community immediately started building theories about Nakamoto's real identity. Hal Finney was one of the main ones on the list. Finney was a prominent software developer. He was also involved in the creation of video games such as Adventures of Tron, Armor Ambush, Astrosmash, and Space Attack. He was interested in cryptography and worked on several projects in this field. In addition, Finney was one of the leaders of cypherpunks in the nineties.
Finney became the very first Bitcoin addressee in history. In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto sent some Bitcoins to his address. Finney also became one of the first people to read Bitcoin's white paper. Nakamoto and Finney met and communicated online, and it was Finney who assisted Satoshi in the development of Bitcoin for three months.
This was the reason Finney was considered the creator of Bitcoin. However, the programmer himself denied it. And last year, a study by Jameson Lopp proved that Finney could not have been Satoshi. A notable piece of evidence in Lopp's study is a 10-mile run that Finney participated in on April 18, 2009. During the 1 hour and 18 minutes that Finney participated in the run, Satoshi was simultaneously exchanging emails with former Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn.
On the same day, Satoshi sent 32.5 BTC to Mike Hearn, the transaction was confirmed at 8:55 am. This happened just 20 minutes before Satoshi responded to Mike's email.
The timing of the transaction is vital. The previous block in the Bitcoin blockchain was mined at 8:28am. That indicates that the transaction that Satoshi sent was composed, signed, and sent between 8:28 and 8:55 am: while Finney was still running the race.
Referring back to the controversial tweet, few commenters believe TheBTCTherapist's assumption. For example, one user wrote that the translation of the name provided by the author of the tweet was meaningless. Indeed, the translation seemed drawn out to many, as it is a mixture of katakana and hiragana. According to one commenter, Satoshi Nakamoto translates to "Originated from a central intelligence." Other users also wrote whether it is so important for the world to know the real identity behind the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
This is katakana and hiragana mix that makes no sense. Kanji is much better (and intriguing)
— Enric ⚡ 13%er (@enricmm85) February 16, 2024
中 =Naka= Center
本 = Moto = Root, origin
聪 = Satoshi = Intelligence
Nakamoto Satoshi = Originated from a central intelligence
