Hal Finney's Involvement in the Early Bitcoin

Hal Finney's name is very important in the history of Bitcoin because he is:

The first person to receive a Bitcoin transaction from Satoshi Nakamoto.

The first person (besides Satoshi) to run the Bitcoin software.

One of the earliest supporters of the concept and potential of Bitcoin as a decentralized financial system.

On January 12, 2009, just a few days after the launch of Bitcoin, Satoshi sent 10 $BTC to Hal Finney in the first recorded Bitcoin transaction on the blockchain.

Finney is also known for writing a post on the bitcointalk forum and the cypherpunk mailing list about his experience running a Bitcoin node and receiving that transaction — making him a direct witness to the birth of a new financial system.