The Bitcoin Genesis Block
The Genesis Block is the very first block of the Bitcoin blockchain, mined by Satoshi Nakamoto on January 3, 2009, at 18:15:05 UTC. Every Bitcoin node validates the entire chain starting from this block, and the reward of that first block was sent to the now-famous genesis address 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa.
The message hidden inside the Genesis Block
The coinbase parameter of block #0 contains this text:
“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”
The message serves two purposes. First, it is a timestamp proof: newspapers do not print headlines in advance, so the block cannot have been mined before January 3, 2009. Second, it is a commentary on the fragility of the fractional-reserve banking system — the very instability Bitcoin was designed to address.
Genesis Block technical details
- Height
- #0
- Timestamp
- 2009-01-03 18:15:05 UTC
- Reward
- 50 BTC
- Hash
- 000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f
- Nonce
- 2083236893
- Difficulty bits
- 0x1d00ffff
Why the Genesis Block's 50 BTC can never be spent
Due to a quirk in Bitcoin's code, the 50 BTC reward of the Genesis Block is permanently unspendable. Bitcoin transactions normally reference outputs stored in the node's transaction database — but the genesis transaction is hard-coded into the software rather than registered as a spendable output. Any attempt to spend it is rejected by the network. Satoshi later received block rewards to normal addresses, but block #0's coins remain locked forever.
The Genesis Address: 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa
The Genesis Block reward was sent to 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa — the first Bitcoin address ever created. Because it can never spend its coins, it has become a digital monument: thousands of Bitcoin users send small tributes to it, and the address has received more than 100 BTC in total.
View the Genesis Address →