Bitcoin WikiPeople
Early Bitcoiners: who built and shaped Bitcoin
Bitcoin was built by people with names, mailing-list posts and dates: the cypherpunks of the 1990s, Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008–2011 and the developers after him. This hub lists 64 profiles, each with key facts and primary sources, including 43 Plan ₿ Forum 2026 speakers in Lugano with their sessions.
Cypherpunks and the ideas Bitcoin built on
Cryptographers and writers behind digital cash, time-stamping, proof-of-work and the cypherpunk movement. Several are cited in the whitepaper.
- Timothy C. MayWriter and Intel scientist; founder of crypto-anarchism, co-founder of the cypherpunks
- Eric HughesMathematician and programmer; co-founder of the cypherpunks, author of A Cypherpunk's Manifesto
- John GilmoreCo-founder of the EFF and of the cypherpunks
- Phil ZimmermannCreator of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy)
- David ChaumCryptographer; invented blind signatures and ecash, founded DigiCash
- Ralph MerkleCryptographer; Merkle trees, cited in the whitepaper
- Stuart Haber & W. Scott StornettaInventors of cryptographic time-stamping; cited three times in the whitepaper
- Wei DaiComputer engineer, author of b-money, reference [1] of the whitepaper
- Nick SzaboComputer scientist and legal scholar; proposed bit gold and smart contracts
- Adam BackInventor of Hashcash, cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper; co-founder and CEO of BlockstreamSpeaker at Plan ₿ Forum 2026, Lugano, Oct 23–24 →
Early Bitcoin people (2008–2013)
Satoshi Nakamoto and the first users, developers and forum administrators.
- Satoshi NakamotoCreator of Bitcoin (pseudonym), active 2008–2011
- Hal FinneyCryptographer, first person besides Satoshi to run Bitcoin, recipient of the first transaction
- Martti MalmiBitcoin's second developer (“sirius”); set up the forum that became BitcoinTalk
- Laszlo HanyeczEarly developer; first public GPU miner; bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC
- Gavin AndresenEarly developer; ran the Bitcoin Faucet, led the project after Satoshi
- theymosAdministrator of the Bitcoin Forum (bitcointalk.org)
- Jeff GarzikEarly Bitcoin developer (from 2010); earlier a Linux kernel developer
- Mike HearnEarly contributor, author of bitcoinj; received Satoshi's last known email
- Gregory MaxwellEarly Bitcoin developer; proposed CoinJoin (2013); co-founder of Blockstream (2014)
Bitcoin Core developers
Maintainers and contributors who write and review the reference software.
Companies and treasuries
People known for Bitcoin companies and corporate treasuries.
Educators and creators
People who explain Bitcoin on YouTube, in classes and on stage.
Plan ₿ Forum 2026 speakers (Lugano, 23–24 Oct)
Speakers from the official agenda: their role as listed by the organiser, every session with Lugano and London time, official links and sources.
- Paolo ArdoinoCEO at Tether. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Tether - A Psychohistory Implementation", 24 Oct 11:00.
- Elizabeth StarkCEO & Co-Founder at Lightning Labs. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Bitcoin and AI: Why AI Needs to Be More Like Bitcoin", 23 Oct 16:30.
- Adam BackInventor of Hashcash, cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper; co-founder and CEO of Blockstream
- Saifedean AmmousEconomist, Author and Bitcoin Educator. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Hard Money on Screen: Bitcoin & Entertainment", 23 Oct 15:00.
- Roy SheinfeldCEO at Breez. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Agents Need Money: Bitcoin, Lightning and A2A Payment Rails", 23 Oct 17:30.
- Samson MowCEO at JAN3. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "The Battle for the Future", 23 Oct 10:00.
- Stephan LiveraBitcoin Podcaster. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Funding Bitcoin: Independence, Incentives, and Influence", 23 Oct 16:00.
- BTC SessionsBitcoin Educator/Youtuber. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Bitcoin Security Is a Spectrum: Lessons from the ColdCard Hack", 23 Oct 10:15.
- Jimmy SongBitcoin Educator | Open-Source-Programmer | Author. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "The next soft fork - BIP 110 Post Mortem", 23 Oct 14:30.
- Joe NakamotoIndependent Bitcoin journalist | content creator | MC. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Lugano's Plan B Update", 23 Oct 09:15.
- Nico MoranHost of Simply Bitcoin. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "The next soft fork - BIP 110 Post Mortem", 23 Oct 14:30.
- Michele FolettiMayor of City of Lugano. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Lugano's Plan B Update", 23 Oct 09:15.
- Mathias BuusCEO at Holepunch. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Escaping the Digital Dark Age: From Digital Feudalism to Sovereign Networks", 23 Oct 15:30.
- Giacomo ZuccoVP Plan B Foundation. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Stablecoins on Bitcoin", 23 Oct 10:30.
- JaromilScientific Director, Plan ₿ Foundation. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Lugano’s Plan ₿ Foundation: From Bitcoin Adoption to Technological Sovereignty", 23 Oct 11:30.
- Aaron van WirdumOG at Bitcoin Magazine, Author of The Genesis Book. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "From Hashcash to Bitcoin: Adam Back’s Cypherpunk Journey", 23 Oct 10:30.
- John CarvalhoCEO Synonym. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Unlocking P2P commerce", 24 Oct 10:00.
- Jonas NickDirector of Research at Blockstream. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "The Race to Replace Bitcoin's Signatures: Quantum, AI, and Hash Functions", 24 Oct 15:30.
- Robin LinusStanford University. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Shielded Bitcoin Payments at Planetary Scale", 23 Oct 11:45.
- Mike SchmidtExecutive Director, Brink. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Funding Bitcoin: Independence, Incentives, and Influence", 23 Oct 16:00.
- Mark MossHost of The Mark Moss Show | Entrepreneur | Investor. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Why Bitcoin Wins the Machine Economy", 24 Oct 15:00.
- Knut SvanholmAuthor & Host Bitcoin Infinity Show. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "The next soft fork - BIP 110 Post Mortem", 23 Oct 14:30.
- Rob HamiltonCo-Founder AnchorWatch. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Risk of Ruin", 24 Oct 15:30.
- Kevin LoaecCEO at Wizardsardine. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Hacking Bitcoin: The New AI Threat Landscape", 24 Oct 17:00.
- Rahim TaghizadeganCEO, deedsats.com. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Geopolitical impact of Bitcoin", 24 Oct 10:30.
- NiftyNeiFounder bitcoin++ & Executive Director Base58 School of Engineering. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Base58 Builds Protocols from Scratch", 23 Oct 11:45.
- Rapha ZaguryCEO Twenty One Capital & Founder Elektron. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Twenty One Capital: Building the Bitcoin Operating Company", 24 Oct 11:45.
- Leon WankumReal Estate Developer, Author & Philosopher. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "From Property to Protocol: How Bitcoin Is Reshaping Real Estate's Role as a Store of Value", 23
- Hermann VivierFounder Bitcoin Ekasi. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Bitcoin Circular Economies - Making Bitcoin Everyday Money", 24 Oct 09:30.
- Andrew FentonCore Contributor. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "GrapheneOS: how to reduce the attack surface of Android", 24 Oct 17:00.
- Pietro PorettiHead of Economic Development, City of Lugano. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Lugano's Plan B Update", 23 Oct 09:15.
- Marco Dal LagoChief Expansion Officer, Tether. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Lugano's Plan B Update", 23 Oct 09:15.
- Chris SeedorCEO & Co-Founder SEEDOR / bitsurance. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "The next soft fork - BIP 110 Post Mortem", 23 Oct 14:30.
- Guido BreraFounder and President, Be Water. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Hard Money on Screen: Bitcoin & Entertainment", 23 Oct 15:00.
- Silvia BerzoniFinancial Executive Editor, Chora Media. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Hard Money on Screen: Bitcoin & Entertainment", 23 Oct 15:00.
- Arsh MoluFreedom Tech Advocate. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Bitcoin and AI: Why AI Needs to Be More Like Bitcoin", 23 Oct 16:30.
- Moritz KaminskiCo-Founder at Alby. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Agents Need Money: Bitcoin, Lightning and A2A Payment Rails", 23 Oct 17:30.
- Ben KaufmanSoftware Developer at Synonym. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Agents Need Money: Bitcoin, Lightning and A2A Payment Rails", 23 Oct 17:30.
- Dario VarelaEngineer, Lightning Labs. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Agents Need Money: Bitcoin, Lightning and A2A Payment Rails", 23 Oct 17:30.
- Samuel KullmannMember of Parliament, Canton Berne / MA political science. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Geopolitical impact of Bitcoin", 24 Oct 10:30.
- Marco ArgentieriCEO Ark Labs. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Stablecoins on Bitcoin", 23 Oct 10:30.
- TalipResearch Engineer at LX Research Labs. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Hacking Bitcoin: The New AI Threat Landscape", 24 Oct 17:00.
- Alexandre LaizetBoard Director at Capital B. Plan ₿ Forum 2026: "Treasury Companies during the next Bull Market", 24 Oct 18:00.
Each card opens a profile with a Key facts table where every row links to its source. More early history: Bitcoin Museum, developers and influencers.