Hal Finney's wife announces Bitcoin fundraiser

She said the event will help ALS patients.

Fran Finney, wife of crypto pioneer Hal Finney, has announced a charity event (ALS). Finney encouraged Bitcoin users to run a half marathon between Jan. 1 and Jan. 10, 2023, and share their experiences on social media to help fight the disease.

Fran Finney announced it on Hal Finney's Twitter. She reactivated the account to avoid Twitter's old account purge.

"Running Bitcoin" is held in cooperation with the ALS Association Golden West Chapter and is named after Hal Finney's first Bitcoin tweet. According to its website, the organization lends ALS patients equipment and educational materials.

Some contributors will receive official Running Bitcoin T-shirts and rare Hal Finney collectibles, the charity said.

Hal Finney pioneered cryptocurrencies. He created Reusable Proof of Work (RPOW) in 2004 so recipients could reuse Hashcash coins. RPOW is often seen as a proto-cryptocurrency, although it used a central server.

Finney contributed code to the Bitcoin codebase in 2008 and 2009 before its release. Satoshi Nakamoto sent him 10 BTC in the first Bitcoin transaction.

Before his ALS diagnosis in August 2009, Hal Finney was an avid runner. After a long illness, he was cryogenically frozen in 2014.