Why Hal Finney is not Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto's good friend, Hal Finney, has long been mentioned as a "potential" Satoshi. However, there is new evidence that this is not the case.

Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin. But who is behind the pseudonym? One name that keeps coming up as an answer to this question: Hal Finney. In fact, Finney played an important role in the development of the peer-to-peer electronic money system and at the time received the first transaction of 10 Bitcoin. Part of the community assumes that this transaction was just a test - and that Hal Finney himself was Satoshi Nakamoto. Until his death in 2014, however, Finney refuted these rumors.

A report published last weekend comes with proof: Hal Finney was telling the truth. Jameson Lopp writes: Hal Finney could not have been at the computer when Satoshi's emails were sent. At the time, Finney was participating in a 10-mile race through Santa Barbara, Calif. A race for which Hal Finney took 87 minutes - the starting gun was at 8:00 a.m. During this morning, Satoshi had several email conversations, with several people. For example, he also had contanct with bitcoin developer Mike Hearn.

At 9:16 a.m., two minutes before Hal Finney crossed the finish line, Satoshi Nakamoto signed an e-mail to Hearn. Now you might think that someone like Satoshi Nakamoto would have enough IT knowledge to pre-program the sending of an e-mail. But Satoshi Nakamoto not only sent emails that morning, he also made a Bitcoin transaction.

So at 8:55 am, a transaction of 32.5 BTC took place - from Satoshi Nakamoto to Mike Hearn, recorded for eternity at block level 11,408. A transaction that Satoshi Nakamoto later confirmed via email.

But who is the real Satoshi? We have made a list of all potential candidates.