Photo: Daily News-Post (staff photo) / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Hal Finney was born on May 4, 1956 in Coalinga, California, United States. Hal Finney was credited as a computer scientist, programmer and cryptographer. Death is recorded on August 28, 2014, at the age of 58.
My Take
Hal Finney is one of those figures I find genuinely moving. Receiving the first Bitcoin transaction from Satoshi Nakamoto could have been his entire legacy, but it was really the culmination of a lifetime of quiet, principled work in cryptography, from game development to PGP. What I respect most is the craftsman's faith: he wrote code and believed in privacy and decentralization long before anyone saw their value. Facing ALS, he kept his optimism about the future intact. He never sought the spotlight, yet he helped reshape how the world thinks about money and trust. A true unsung architect.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Hal Finney
- Name (Japanese)
- ハル・フィニー
- Reading
- はる・ふぃにー
- Born
- May 4, 1956 – August 28, 2014
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Monkey
- Origin
- Coalinga, California, United States
- Occupation
- computer scientist / programmer / cryptographer
2. Links
3. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Hal Finney born?
Born May 4, 1956.
When did Hal Finney die?
Died August 28, 2014, aged 58.
Where was Hal Finney from?
Hal Finney was from Coalinga, California, United States.
What did Hal Finney do?
Hal Finney worked as computer scientist, programmer, cryptographer.
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