Stories
The people who built Bitcoin
Cypherpunks, cryptographers, developers, early adopters and controversial figures. Every card stat, bio line and connection links to a source. Photos are openly licensed from Wikimedia Commons, with credits on each card; where no free photo exists, we show a monogram. Who Satoshi is remains unknown, and we do not speculate.
Connection map
15 sourced connections. Lines are drawn only where a primary source or reference work documents the link; people without a documented link to others here stand alone.
Satoshi Nakamoto5 links
- Sent the first person-to-person bitcoin transaction to Hal Finney (block 170). Source
- The white paper cites Adam Back's Hashcash and Wei Dai's b-money. Source
- Named Nick Szabo's Bitgold proposal as a basis of Bitcoin. Source
- Handed control of the code repository and alert key to Gavin Andresen. Source
- Open Satoshi Nakamoto's card →
Hal Finney3 links
- Received the first person-to-person bitcoin transaction from Satoshi Nakamoto (block 170). Source
- Built RPOW on Adam Back's Hashcash-style proof-of-work. Source
- Was inspired by David Chaum's work (1992 post). Source
- Open Hal Finney's card →
Adam Back4 links
- His Hashcash was cited in Satoshi Nakamoto's white paper. Source
- His Hashcash-style proof-of-work was the basis of Hal Finney's RPOW. Source
- Co-founded Blockstream with Pieter Wuille and Gregory Maxwell. Source
- Open Adam Back's card →
Nick Szabo1 link
- Satoshi Nakamoto named his Bitgold proposal as a basis of Bitcoin. Source
- Open Nick Szabo's card →
Wei Dai2 links
- His b-money was cited in Satoshi Nakamoto's white paper. Source
- His b-money opens by citing Timothy C. May's crypto-anarchy. Source
- Open Wei Dai's card →
David Chaum1 link
- His work inspired Hal Finney (1992 post). Source
- Open David Chaum's card →
Gavin Andresen3 links
- Was given control of the code repository and alert key by Satoshi Nakamoto. Source
- Handed the Bitcoin Core lead maintainer role to Wladimir van der Laan. Source
- Founded the Bitcoin Foundation, where Roger Ver was a founding member. Source
- Open Gavin Andresen's card →
Wladimir van der Laan1 link
- Took over from Gavin Andresen as Bitcoin Core lead maintainer. Source
- Open Wladimir van der Laan's card →
Pieter Wuille2 links
- Co-founded Blockstream with Adam Back. Source
- Co-authored the Taproot BIP, which builds on Gregory Maxwell's proposal. Source
- Open Pieter Wuille's card →
Gregory Maxwell2 links
- Co-founded Blockstream with Adam Back. Source
- His Taproot proposal is the basis of Pieter Wuille's Taproot BIP. Source
- Open Gregory Maxwell's card →
Eric Hughes1 link
- Co-founded the cypherpunks with Timothy C. May. Source
- Open Eric Hughes's card →
Timothy C. May2 links
- Co-founded the cypherpunks with Eric Hughes. Source
- His crypto-anarchy is cited in the opening line of Wei Dai's b-money. Source
- Open Timothy C. May's card →
Roger Ver1 link
- Was a founding member of the Bitcoin Foundation, founded by Gavin Andresen. Source
- Open Roger Ver's card →
Nayib Bukele1 link
- Was advised on bitcoin by Max Keiser. Source
- Open Nayib Bukele's card →
Max Keiser1 link
- Said he served as a senior adviser to Nayib Bukele. Source
- Open Max Keiser's card →
Cards
Creator
Satoshi Nakamoto
Pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin
- Known for ·
- Bitcoin white paper and v0.1 software
- Date ·
- Jan 3, 2009: genesis block
Cypherpunk
Hal Finney
Cryptographer, first recipient of a Bitcoin transaction
- Known for ·
- First Bitcoin transaction recipient
- Date ·
- Jan 12, 2009: received 10 BTC
Cypherpunk
Adam Back
Cryptographer, inventor of Hashcash, Blockstream CEO
- Known for ·
- Hashcash proof-of-work
- Date ·
- 1997: Hashcash proposed
Cypherpunk
Nick Szabo
Computer scientist, legal scholar, smart-contract pioneer
- Known for ·
- Bit gold, smart contracts
- Date ·
- Dec 2005: bit gold post
Cypherpunk
Wei Dai
Computer engineer, author of b-money and Crypto++
- Known for ·
- b-money, Crypto++
- Date ·
- 1998: b-money published
Precursor
David Chaum
Cryptographer, founder of DigiCash
- Known for ·
- Ecash, blind signatures, mix networks
- Date ·
- 1990: founded DigiCash
Developer
Gavin Andresen
Early lead developer, Bitcoin Foundation founder
- Known for ·
- Lead developer after Satoshi; the Bitcoin Faucet
- Date ·
- Apr 8, 2014: handed lead maintainer role on
Early adopter
Laszlo Hanyecz
Early developer, Bitcoin Pizza Day buyer
- Known for ·
- Bitcoin Pizza Day
- Date ·
- May 22, 2010: 10,000 BTC for two pizzas
Educator
Andreas M. Antonopoulos
Author and educator
- Known for ·
- Mastering Bitcoin, talks and podcasts
- Date ·
- 2014: Mastering Bitcoin published
Markets
Michael Saylor
Executive chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy)
- Known for ·
- Corporate bitcoin treasury strategy
- Date ·
- Aug 11, 2020: 21,454 BTC purchase
Developer
Wladimir van der Laan
Bitcoin Core lead maintainer, 2014–2022
- Known for ·
- Bitcoin Core lead maintainer
- Date ·
- Apr 8, 2014: became lead maintainer
Developer
Pieter Wuille
Bitcoin Core developer, author of HD wallets, SegWit and Taproot BIPs
- Known for ·
- BIP 32, SegWit, Schnorr and Taproot
- Date ·
- Nov 14, 2021: Taproot activates
Developer
Gregory Maxwell
Bitcoin Core developer, CoinJoin and Taproot idea
- Known for ·
- CoinJoin, Taproot proposal
- Date ·
- Aug 2013: CoinJoin post
Developer
Luke Dashjr
Bitcoin Core contributor, Bitcoin Knots maintainer, Ocean co-founder
- Known for ·
- Bitcoin Knots
- Date ·
- 2023: co-founded Ocean mining pool
Builder
Jameson Lopp
Casa co-founder, security engineer
- Known for ·
- Casa multisig custody; Bitcoin resources list
Legal history
Ross Ulbricht
Creator of Silk Road
- Known for ·
- Silk Road (2011–2013)
- Date ·
- Jan 21, 2025: pardoned
Cypherpunk
Eric Hughes
Cypherpunk co-founder, author of A Cypherpunk's Manifesto
- Known for ·
- A Cypherpunk's Manifesto
- Date ·
- Mar 9, 1993: Manifesto
Cypherpunk
Timothy C. May
Cypherpunk co-founder, author of The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto
- Known for ·
- The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto, the Cyphernomicon
- Date ·
- 1992: cypherpunks founded
Early adopter
Roger Ver
Early investor and promoter, Bitcoin Cash advocate
- Known for ·
- Early bitcoin startup investing; Bitcoin.com
- Date ·
- Oct 14, 2025: deferred prosecution agreement
Nation-states
Nayib Bukele
President of El Salvador; made bitcoin legal tender
- Known for ·
- President of El Salvador since Jun 1, 2019
- Date ·
- Jun 5, 2021: announces the bill
Nation-states
Max Keiser
Broadcaster; bitcoin adviser to El Salvador's president
- Known for ·
- Keiser Report on RT, 2009–2022
- Date ·
- End of 2022: National Bitcoin Office
Checked Oct 15, 2026. Spot an error? Every claim links to its source so you can verify it. See also the timeline, history and quotes.