First People Supporting Bitcoin

People on social networks are still discussing if it is too early to buy Bitcoin. Crypto project owners are trying to find ways to encourage mass adoption, and still, there are a lot of people who do not believe in BTC and refuse to see all the opportunities it brings.

Unlike these people there is another type, there are enthusiasts who became early supporters of Bitcoin. They believed in the new technology long before it became mainstream. We would like to introduce some of the Bitcoin pioneers.

Hal Finney

Hal Finney was a computer scientist back in 2009 and a well-known cryptographer in the cyberpunk community. He used to work for PGP Corporation. When Satoshi Nakamoto made his post on the cyberpunk mailing list, Finney responded to it right away. On January 12, 2009, Satoshi sent Finney 10 BTC and he became a recipient of the first transaction, and later one of the earliest Bitcoin investors. Back then this amount was worth nothing, nobody tried to make a Bitcoin price prediction, however, today 10 BTC is worth thousands of dollars.

In 2004 Finney created a Reusable Proof of Work software. It was an important step for Bitcoin, however, Satoshi Nakamoto does not mention Finney in the white paper.

Unfortunately, Hal Finney died in 2014 because of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He would have been 65 in 2022.

Eric Fineman

Eric Fineman is one of the most famous Bitcoin millionaires in the world. He invested in BTC while he was a teenager in 2011. Then Bitcoin was worth $12. According to the story he borrowed $1,000 from his grandmother and his brother helped him to make a purchase. In two years the price of BTC increased dramatically, and Eric made a fortune. By 2015 he created his own education company. He decided to sell it. He had an opportunity to choose between cash and Bitcoin, and he chose the second option. Thus, he became a millionaire before 18 years. He never got a college degree and when asked he said that he was happy with the experience he got from real life.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have a long history in the Cryptocurrency World. They became early investors. And their investment list includes various crypto startups and existing projects, for example, Tezos and Xapo Bank.

However, their start was in sports. They competed in the 2008 Olympics as rowers. While in Harvard they became co-founders of HarvardConnection (a.k.a ConnectU). Later they sued Mark Zuckerberg for stealing the Facebook idea from them.

They have a holding approach to Bitcoin. They believe that the best way to deal with BTC is to hold it for a long time. According to their point of view, Bitcoin is not just an asset or technology, it is a movement that brings more independence and opportunities.

In 2013 they registered their Bitcoin-based company called Math-Based Asset Services LLC. In 2014 they launched Winkdex, a tracing Bitcoin price index. In 2015 they launched their own crypto exchange, Gemini.

Now Winklevoss twins are mostly acting as investors, and they are not afraid of the riskiest projects.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, stories like these combine enthusiasm with luck. They are more of an exception than a rule. Nonetheless, there is always something we can learn from these people’s experiences. For example, we can adopt their passion and open-mindedness when it comes to new technologies and not standard points of view.