Genesis Block
The very first Bitcoin block, mined by Satoshi Nakamoto. It contains the embedded headline: 'The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.'
This event is part of Bitcoin history — See the full Bitcoin timeline
The Beginning of Bitcoin
On January 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined the Genesis Block (Block 0), launching the Bitcoin network. This block is unique — it cannot be spent and its 50 BTC reward is permanently unspendable by design.
Embedded in the coinbase transaction is the now-famous headline from The Times: 'The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.' This timestamp proves the block was created on or after that date and serves as a political statement about the fragility of the traditional banking system.
The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.
— Coinbase transaction of the Genesis Block
Technical Details
Block Reward
50 BTC (unspendable)Timestamp
2009-01-03 18:15:05 UTCDifficulty
1Nonce
2,083,236,893The Genesis Block has no previous block reference (previous block hash is all zeros), marking it as the root of the entire blockchain. The block hash is 000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f.
