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The Genesis Block: what Satoshi hid in Bitcoin's first block

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SoloLuck Blog · 2026-06-30

Block zero

Every blockchain starts somewhere. Bitcoin's begins with the genesis block — block 0 — mined by Satoshi Nakamoto on 3 January 2009. It's the root that every later block links back to, the foundation the entire ledger is built on. And Satoshi left a message inside it.

The hidden headline

Embedded in the genesis block's coinbase (the special first input of the block) is this line of text:

"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks."

It's the front-page headline of that day's London Times. It does two things at once: it timestamps the block (proving it wasn't created earlier), and it makes a pointed statement — Bitcoin was born in the middle of a banking crisis, as an alternative to the very system being bailed out.

The 50 BTC that can never be spent

The genesis block's 50 BTC reward is, by a quirk of the original code, permanently unspendable — it isn't part of the spendable ledger like every other block's reward. People still send small amounts to that address as a tribute, but those coins, and the genesis reward itself, will sit there forever. A fitting monument.

The first real transaction came later

The genesis coinbase isn't a normal payment. Bitcoin's first transaction between people happened nine days later, in block 170 on 12 January 2009: Satoshi sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney. That's the moment Bitcoin first changed hands — see the fuller story in the history of Bitcoin.

Why it still matters

The genesis block is more than trivia. It's a permanent reminder of why Bitcoin exists, hard-coded where no one can edit it. Every block your miner ever works on traces, link by link, all the way back to that first one and its quiet headline. When you point a machine at a pool, you're adding to a chain that started with a message about broken banks.

FAQ

What is the genesis block?
It's the very first block in the Bitcoin blockchain, block 0, mined by Satoshi Nakamoto on 3 January 2009. Every other block links back to it.
What message is in the genesis block?
The text 'The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks' — a real newspaper headline that both timestamps the block and comments on the financial crisis Bitcoin was built to counter.
Can the genesis block's 50 BTC be spent?
No. Due to a quirk in the original software, the genesis reward is permanently unspendable. People sometimes send coins to the address as a tribute, but it can never be moved out.
When was the first real Bitcoin transaction?
On 12 January 2009, in block 170, when Satoshi sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney — the first time bitcoin moved between two people.

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