For many years, one of the developers of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, Hala Finney, was considered its possible creator, who was hiding under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Some even suspected that Finney might have owned the 700,000 bitcoins that were mined in the early days of the protocol. Finney was an extrapian - someone who believes in the philosophy of futurology and life extension. Moreover, this developer even subjected himself to cryopreservation after death in the hope that future scientists will find a way to restore his brain and answer a number of questions regarding the early days of Bitcoin.
In the days when Bitcoin software was launched for the first time, Finney - also a well-known PGP Corporation developer and computer scientist - received the very first Bitcoin transaction. He also helped Satoshi launch the network and worked on Bitcoin in its first year. The programmer also collaborated with the creators of other software until he found out a terrible diagnosis: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Some believed that Finney himself could have been the creator of Bitcoin, he just did not disclose this.
Hal Finney: Frozen Cryptogeny
In 2014, for example, Andy Greenberg, a well-known tech journalist at Wired, wrote a story about why he believed that Finny could have been Nakamoto, or at least was a person who was closely associated with the creator of Bitcoin. Others believe in Satoshi Nakamoto's "group theory," arguing that the vast knowledge Finney had about some of the earliest coins that were mined implies that Satoshi was more than one person. More interestingly, in the future, scientists will have a chance to find bitcoin keys in Finney's cryogenic "brain wallets".
Petrified body and mind
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Finney and his wife Fran embraced the principles of Futurism and followed the belief of the Extrapians. The philosophy of extropy is an ideology followed by people who are convinced that society will continuously improve as a result of advances in science and technology. Individuals who follow this philosophy imagine that humans can ultimately achieve immortality by restoring their brains after death. Greenberg writes that Finney and his wife both agreed to cryopreservation long before he died.
On August 28, 2014, shortly after Finney died, his body was taken to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, well known for its cryopreservation initiatives. Finney's body fluids were pumped out and replaced with M-22. The cryoprotectant mixture has led to a vitreous solidification process that protects embryos, sperm and blastocysts for years.
According to Greenberg, Finney's body was cooled to -195.6 degrees Celsius and then placed in an aluminum vat filled with liquid nitrogen. After they completed the cryoprotective perfusion process, the Alcor Foundation stated that Finney will be "in long-term preservation where he will be cared for until the day when recovery and resurrection is possible." Finney was Alcor's 128th patient and his cryogenic process was paid for with "life insurance and bitcoin donated by everyone," the company said.
Unlocking the "wallet in the brain"
Finney chose to keep his consciousness because he believed that brain repair was a problem that engineers could solve, though not now, simply by tweaking the code. Thanks to cryogenics, it is possible to bring back cryptogeny in a few decades and uncover the secrets of the nascent Bitcoin network. Finney's brain can hold secrets about Satoshi's wealth and data about the first bitcoins mined. Futurologists and, so to speak, believers in the philosophy of cryopreservation can be considered fanatics, but cryogenics still relies on the fact that technology improves over time.
The scientific process of cryopreservation could enable future generations to unlock Hal Finney's “brain wallets”. The Alcor Foundation and cryogenic scientists say long-term memories are encoded in the brain and can undergo many physical and chemical changes over time. The cryonics lab says the team uses a well-known biological research process, which implies that memories can be retained after the cryopreservation process.
Bitcoin enthusiasts have long joked about Finney's cryopreservation and the possibility that the frozen bitcoin keys are also frozen in his frozen brain. But in truth, we don't know if cryonics can preserve or allow any secrets of Bitcoin to be revealed. It's safe to say that the search for the mysterious Satoshi has spawned a number of amazing theories.