Today HRF launches the Finney Freedom Prize to honor Hal Finney, a champion of privacy, open-source software, and electronic cash The 1 BTC award celebrates those who do the most for Bitcoin and freedom each halving era Let it inspire many more Hals✌️ http:/finneyprize.org

Hal Finney is the first Laureate, receiving the Prize for his historic contributions to Bitcoin and human rights during the 2009 - 2012 era. To help choose Laureates for the 2012 - 2016, 2016 - 2020, and 2020 - 2024 eras, HRF and the Finney Family have assembled a Genesis Committee of seven individuals tasked with nominating deserving candidates. These three Laureates will be announced on Running Bitcoin day (January 10th) in 2025, 2026, and 2027. Each member of the Genesis Committee will nominate a successor, and that next committee will nominate candidates for the 2024 - 2028 era, and that Laureate will be announced during the 2028 halving. This process will continue until block height 6,930,000, projected to be sometime in the 2130s, when the Bitcoin issuance drops from 1 satoshi to zero, marking the last change to Bitcoin monetary policy, the final Laureate, and the end of the Finney Prize. You can watch a short statement from @franfinney, and learn more about Hal, the Prize Details, the Publicly-Verifiable Treasury, and the Genesis Committee at http:/finneyprize.org Above all, we hope this Prize can help sustain Hal’s critical legacy for future generations, and inspire people all over the world to do as much as possible to advance Bitcoin as a tool of human rights and to make sure we preserve freedom and privacy in the growing digital space around us As Hal said, “the computer can be used as a tool to liberate and protect people, rather than to control them” We agree! 🧡