The post How Hal Finney’s 2009 Post Became a Cornerstone of Bitcoin History appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Bitcoin The Bitcoin community is marking a quiet but meaningful milestone tied to one of the earliest moments in the network’s history. On January 10, 2009, cypherpunk and early Bitcoin contributor Hal Finney published a short message that would later become legendary: “Running Bitcoin.” With those two words, Finney signaled that the first publicly known Bitcoin node beyond its creator was live. Key takeaways January 10, 2009 marks one of the first public confirmations that Bitcoin was running beyond its creator Hal Finney was the first known person to operate a Bitcoin node after launch His post is considered a foundational moment in Bitcoin’s early history Finney later became the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction Finney was not only among the first to experiment with Bitcoin’s software, but he was also the recipient of the network’s first-ever transaction. That transfer came from Satoshi Nakamoto, who sent Finney ten BTC as a test of the system’s functionality. At current market prices, that amount would be worth well over $900,000, but its historical value far outweighs its monetary one. Running bitcoin — halfin (@halfin) January 11, 2009 Born on May 4, 1956, Finney had an extensive background in computer science and cryptography long before Bitcoin existed. He quickly responded to Nakamoto’s white paper in late 2008 and became one of the earliest collaborators to engage directly with the project’s creator. His deep technical expertise and close correspondence with Satoshi later placed him at the center of speculation about Bitcoin’s mysterious origins. Why speculation around Satoshi Nakamoto persists That speculation intensified over the years, with some suggesting Finney himself may have been Satoshi Nakamoto. The theory gained renewed attention in 2024 when HBO released a documentary series titled Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, which claimed to shed light on Nakamoto’s true identity.…

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Filed under: News - @ January 11, 2026 1:20 am