The initiative is a tribute to the memory of Hal Finney, the first bitcoiner, who unfortunately died of ALS. The funds will go to the Golden West Chapter, the organization that took care of the programmer during his illness.
Donations in Bitcoin began to be accepted during a campaign against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) launched as a tribute to the memory of the late programmer Hal Finney, who was the recipient of the first transaction in the Bitcoin network. His widow Fran Finney, who has become an activist to find a cure for the illness from which her husband suffered, approved the initiative.
The funds raised will be destined to the Golden West Chapter of the ALS Association, the organization that took care of the programmer in his fight against ALS until his death in August 2014. It is worth mentioning that the association is dedicated to the fight against the disease in many ways, including the financing of research efforts all over the world. In this first stage, it is expected that it will raise a total of USD 2,500.
The ALS Association said on its website that they are participating to honor the legacy of a respected figure in the Bitcoin network, Hal Finney. They believe that he was an integral part of the history of Bitcoin, as the first person to contact its anonymous creator to help and assist in the creation of a functioning network. He was also the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction and executed the first mining software apart from Satoshi himself.
The people that are interested in donating to this cause must access the association’s webpage and select one of the options available. It should be noted that they can choose to make their donations with credit cards, in cash or through the Cash App application. The association explained that information on the initiative is disseminated from the Twitter account @bitcoin4als and that renowned cryptocurrency ecosystem personalities are invited to participate in the campaign.
There was information that the plan was to integrate other cryptocurrencies as well, but this option was not possible. For that reason, @ bitcoin4als said that the campaign is not aimed at highlighting a particular project but at highlighting Hal Finney’s legacy.
There were reports that this donation campaign does not seek to determine which scalable solution or cryptocurrency project is the best. It seeks to honor Hal Finney’s legacy and shows his family that his contributions and everything he did, considered important.
Finney posted on his Twitter account on January 10th, 2009 the message «Running Bitcoin», which was the first reference on the social network to the possible future of the main cryptocurrency in the market. After this historical event, an increasing number of users have been posting messages regarding Satoshi’s creation.
To conclude, it is important to say that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in loss of muscle control. It is estimated that every 90 minutes a person is diagnosed with ALS in the USA, thus leading to this kind of initiative of using Bitcoin to contribute to fighting this disease.
By Willmen Blanco
