A lot of people don’t understand how significant 10 minute international final settlement with a bearer asset is. #Bitcoin changed everything, the world is still catching up.

Enjoying #nostr more and more… this feels like a healthier way to consume social media.

In an attempt to honour Hal Finney, I am placing his final public forum post here to be immortalized forever on #nostr . The post ends with Hal saying, “I am comfortable with my legacy,” I’m sure he would be happy to see how his legacy and impact has only grown and positively affected so many lives. This one is well worth the short read. Hal Finney’s post titled “ #bitcoin and me (Hal Finney)” from March 19, 2013 I thought I'd write about the last four years, an eventful time for Bitcoin and me. For those who don't know me, I'm Hal Finney. I got my start in crypto working on an early version of PGP, working closely with Phil Zimmermann. When Phil decided to start PGP Corporation, I was one of the first hires. I would work on PGP until my retirement. At the same time, I got involved with the Cypherpunks. I ran the first cryptographically based anonymous remailer, among other activities. Fast forward to late 2008 and the announcement of Bitcoin. I've noticed that cryptographic graybeards (I was in my mid 50's) tend to get cynical. I was more idealistic; I have always loved crypto, the mystery and the paradox of it. When Satoshi announced Bitcoin on the cryptography mailing list, he got a skeptical reception at best. Cryptographers have seen too many grand schemes by clueless noobs. They tend to have a knee jerk reaction. I was more positive. I had long been interested in cryptographic payment schemes. Plus I was lucky enough to meet and extensively correspond with both Wei Dai and Nick Szabo, generally acknowledged to have created ideas that would be realized with Bitcoin. I had made an attempt to create my own proof of work based currency, called RPOW. So I found Bitcoin facinating. When Satoshi announced the first release of the software, I grabbed it right away. I think I was the first person besides Satoshi to run bitcoin. I mined block 70-something, and I was the recipient of the first bitcoin transaction, when Satoshi sent ten coins to me as a test. I carried on an email conversation with Satoshi over the next few days, mostly me reporting bugs and him fixing them. Today, Satoshi's true identity has become a mystery. But at the time, I thought I was dealing with a young man of Japanese ancestry who was very smart and sincere. I've had the good fortune to know many brilliant people over the course of my life, so I recognize the signs. After a few days, bitcoin was running pretty stably, so I left it running. Those were the days when difficulty was 1, and you could find blocks with a CPU, not even a GPU. I mined several blocks over the next days. But I turned it off because it made my computer run hot, and the fan noise bothered me. In retrospect, I wish I had kept it up longer, but on the other hand I was extraordinarily lucky to be there at the beginning. It's one of those glass half full half empty things. The next I heard of Bitcoin was late 2010, when I was surprised to find that it was not only still going, bitcoins actually had monetary value. I dusted off my old wallet, and was relieved to discover that my bitcoins were still there. As the price climbed up to real money, I transferred the coins into an offline wallet, where hopefully they'll be worth something to my heirs. Speaking of heirs, I got a surprise in 2009, when I was suddenly diagnosed with a fatal disease. I was in the best shape of my life at the start of that year, I'd lost a lot of weight and taken up distance running. I'd run several half marathons, and I was starting to train for a full marathon. I worked my way up to 20+ mile runs, and I thought I was all set. That's when everything went wrong. My body began to fail. I slurred my speech, lost strength in my hands, and my legs were slow to recover. In August, 2009, I was given the diagnosis of ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, after the famous baseball player who got it. ALS is a disease that kills moter neurons, which carry signals from the brain to the muscles. It causes first weakness, then gradually increasing paralysis. It is usually fatal in 2 to 5 years. My symptoms were mild at first and I continued to work, but fatigue and voice problems forced me to retire in early 2011. Since then the disease has continued its inexorable progression. Today, I am essentially paralyzed. I am fed through a tube, and my breathing is assisted through another tube. I operate the computer using a commercial eyetracker system. It also has a speech synthesizer, so this is my voice now. I spend all day in my power wheelchair. I worked up an interface using an arduino so that I can adjust my wheelchair's position using my eyes. It has been an adjustment, but my life is not too bad. I can still read, listen to music, and watch TV and movies. I recently discovered that I can even write code. It's very slow, probably 50 times slower than I was before. But I still love programming and it gives me goals. Currently I'm working on something Mike Hearn suggested, using the security features of modern processors, designed to support "Trusted Computing", to harden Bitcoin wallets. It's almost ready to release. I just have to do the documentation. And of course the price gyrations of bitcoins are entertaining to me. I have skin in the game. But I came by my bitcoins through luck, with little credit to me. I lived through the crash of 2011. So I've seen it before. Easy come, easy go. That's my story. I'm pretty lucky overall. Even with the ALS, my life is very satisfying. But my life expectancy is limited. Those discussions about inheriting your bitcoins are of more than academic interest. My bitcoins are stored in our safe deposit box, and my son and daughter are tech savvy. I think they're safe enough. I'm comfortable with my legacy.” - Hal Finney, March 2013

With these prices, I might have to wear my #bitcoin socks to all the Christmas family gatherings this year.

#Bitcoin will set you free.

#Bitcoin has reduced my retirement timeline from approximately 40 more years of work to another 4-8 if I feel like it…

I’m happy to buy at these prices. #Bitcoin

My #Bitcoin plan is measured in decades, not dollars.

There is a glorious feeling of pride as one builds their #bitcoin stack humbly, paycheck by paycheck.

“Thinking you are late to #Bitcoin is a failure or ego.” - Jack Mallers

Making a typo on #nostr is extra painful… one small mistake etched into a decentralized network that can never be altered or erased. Permanence is powerful.

I predict #Bitcoin going from 0-100k will have take longer than Bitcoin going from 100k-1M. Time will tell…

#Bitcoin is in the process of facilitating the greatest transfer of wealth in human history.

A #Bitcoin treasury gives companies the runway to do great things for humanity.

It feels like a good day to dust off this #Bitcoin meme

#Bitcoin creates common ground amongst both allies and enemies. When any government adopts a Bitcoin strategy, they begin working for all bitcoin holders. Typically a government should be voluntarily working for its people, but we know this often isn’t the case.

Hundredth Monkey Effect coming to #Bitcoin soon.

On days like today #nostr becomes the most important app to ever exist. Wishing America a free and honest election.

#Bitcoin doesn’t compete with crypto or fiat. Bitcoin competes with any asset anyone has ever used to store wealth. Bitcoin competes with real estate, precious metals, the stock market, the art market, the collectables market. The question becomes how big of a share will it take?

Be weary of the surveillance state. #Bitcoin