Human Rights Foundation launches Finney Freedom Prize to reward contributions to Bitcoin for 110 years

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) unveiled the Finney Freedom Prize on Bitcoin’s fourth halving day to have a good time the flagship crypto for enabling larger monetary freedom for the world.

The award is designed to honor vital world achievements in Bitcoin and human rights, reflecting Finney’s imaginative and prescient of utilizing know-how as a instrument for liberation.

The inaugural Finney Freedom Prize was awarded posthumously to Hal Finney, recognizing his pioneering work throughout Bitcoin’s first halving period from 2009 to 2012. Finney’s widow, Fran Finney, who accepted the award on his behalf, selected to donate the prize to charity and mentioned:

“We believe this prize will ensure Hal’s legacy endures, inspiring future generations to explore and expand the use of Bitcoin as a tool for achieving personal and collective freedom.”

Finney, who succumbed to ALS in 2014, was a staunch advocate for civil liberties and a key determine within the early growth of Bitcoin. He was the primary individual, after Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, to function the software program and partake in Bitcoin transactions.

110-year legacy

The Finney Freedom Prize will probably be distributed each 4 years on subsequent Bitcoin halving days, with a complete of 28 awards slated over the following 110 years. The initiative is supported by a 33 BTC fund established by HRF.

Laureates will probably be acknowledged for their contributions to Bitcoin and human rights inside particular halving intervals and can obtain a financial prize of 1 Bitcoin (BTC) together with a bodily award.

Nominations and alternatives for future laureates will probably be managed by the Genesis Committee, composed of notable figures within the Bitcoin neighborhood, together with Farida Nabourema, Lisa Neigut, and Obi Nwosu, amongst others.

The committee will consider candidates based mostly on their instructional efforts about Bitcoin, contributions to its know-how, promotion of decentralization, and efforts to improve Bitcoin’s accessibility, notably beneath oppressive regimes.

, with 1 BTC allotted for every award over the remaining halving occasions. Hal Finney’s Bitcoin will probably be donated to charity as directed by his widow, Fran Finney, who mentioned: