What Is the Genesis Block? 8 Things to Know as Investors Celebrate ‘Bitcoin’s Birthday.’

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This past weekend brought cause for celebration. Beyond marking a new year and a clean slate, it ushered in reflection over Bitcoin’s (CCC:BTC-USD) recent performance. Why? Well, today marks what many see as the 13th birthday of Bitcoin, the day the Genesis Block was mined.

Bitcoin tokens on a motherboard representing BTC.

Source: Momentum Fotograh / Shutterstock.com

But what is the Genesis Block, and what you need to know about it?

If you are hungry for information as BTC becomes a teenager, you’re in luck. Here’s everything you need to know about the milestone investors are celebrating on social media today.

What Is the Genesis Block? The Origin of Bitcoin.

  • Today, Jan. 3, marks the birthday of Bitcoin. In other words, it’s the day that Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, mined the Genesis Block.
  • The Genesis Block is the very first block on the Bitcoin blockchain. By mining it, Nakamoto created the chain. Indirectly, the creator spawned the 21 million BTC which make up the currency’s total supply.
  • The block, known as Block 0, dealt out 50 BTC as a reward to Nakamoto for mining it. However, as it turns out, Nakamoto made the 50 BTC reward for this block unusable.
  • While the day is in fact Bitcoin’s birthday, it wasn’t until nearly a week later that others could use the Bitcoin software. Five days passed before Nakamoto released the software to the public.
  • Of course, this delay occurred because anybody would have been able to mine the Genesis Block. This could have become quite messy, with multiple Genesis Blocks and multiple Bitcoins. As such, Nakamoto chose to delay the full public launch.
  • This does not mean, however, that Nakamoto pre-mined any Bitcoin. With pre-mining, coins would be set aside for creators. Nakamoto did all of their own mining, paying to power their own hardware and receiving block rewards in the same way as everybody else. This makes Bitcoin truly decentralized in terms of its supply, especially when remembering that the Genesis Block’s rewards are not spendable.
  • Satoshi Nakamoto has potentially been uncovered in recent weeks; Australian Craig Wright claimed in a recent lawsuit that he is Nakamoto. The jury did rule Wright the winner, believing his claim to be true. However, there are others who fit the bill of Bitcoin’s creator, like Nick Szabo.
  • This is important to the Genesis Block because the block may hold a clue as to who Nakamoto really is. See, the block includes a quote referencing a The Times article from Jan. 3, 2009 — the day the block was mined. The timestamp serves to prove when the block was mined. But, given that The Times is a British publication, it could hint that the real Nakamoto was at least living in the United Kingdom at the time.

On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Brenden Rearick is a Financial News Writer for InvestorPlace’s Today’s Market team. He mainly covers digital assets and tech stocks, with a focus on crypto regulation and DeFi.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2022/01/what-is-the-genesis-block-8-things-to-know-as-investors-celebrate-bitcoins-birthday/.

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