What is Bitcoin's genesis block?
UTXOHub · Bitcoin's history
It is block 0, the first blockBlockA batch of transactions added to Bitcoin's shared record, about every 10 minutes on average. in Bitcoin's chain, timestamped 3 January 2009 and built into Bitcoin's software by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Every block since links back to it.
The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks
What the genesis block is
A block is a batch of transactions added to Bitcoin's shared record. Each block includes a fingerprint of the one before it, so the blocks form a chain. The genesis block is the first, so nothing comes before it. Its own data gives its time as 18:15:05 UTC on 3 January 2009 and shows it holds a single payment: the reward for making it. Every other block is downloaded from other computers on the network, but this one is written into Bitcoin's software. Bitcoin Core, a widely used Bitcoin program, has its details and headline in its code. You can see it on UTXOHub as block 0.
The newspaper headline inside it
The block carries a short message: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”. That was the front-page headline of The Times, a British newspaper, that day, as a photo of the printed page on the Bitcoin Wiki shows. The article, by Francis Elliott and Gary Duncan, reported that “Alistair Darling has been forced to consider a second bailout for banks as the lending drought worsens.” Darling was the UK's Chancellor, its finance minister. Quoting the newspaper shows the block can't have been made before that day. The Bitcoin Wiki also reads it as a comment on the banking system.
The 50 BTC that can never be spent
Making the block earned a reward of 50 BTC. It was paid straight to a public keyPublic keyThe partner of a private key. It lets anyone check a signature without revealing the private key under current computing assumptions., the oldest kind of payment, called pay-to-public-keyPay-to-public-key (P2PK)The earliest kind of Bitcoin payment, which locked coins straight to a public key and left that key on show.. The Bitcoin Wiki lists it under the addressAddressA string of letters and numbers that tells someone where to send you bitcoin, a bit like an account number for one payment. 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa. Nobody can spend it. A note in Bitcoin Core's code reads: “Special case for the genesis block, skipping connection of its transactions (its coinbase is unspendable)”. The coinbase is the reward payment. In plain terms, the program never adds it to its list of coins that can be spent, the UTXOUTXOAn unspent transaction output: an amount of bitcoin left by a transaction, with rules for spending it. set. The Bitcoin Wiki says nobody knows whether Satoshi did this on purpose.
Six days until block 1
New blocks come about every 10 minutes on average, but block 1 is timestamped 02:54:25 UTC on 9 January 2009. That is six calendar days later, or about five days and nine hours. Satoshi announced the first Bitcoin software at 19:27 UTC on 8 January. Nobody knows for certain what happened in between. The Bitcoin Wiki lists three ideas. The block may have been given an earlier time to match the headline. Mining it may have taken days, since its fingerprint starts with more zeros than were needed. Or Satoshi may have tested the software privately before starting the public network.
People still send coins to it
People keep sending bitcoin to the genesis address. By 18 October 2026, mempool.space counted nearly 67,000 payments to it, adding up to more than 57 BTC, and new ones arrived that day. None has ever been spent. These are ordinary payments, not part of the locked reward, so whoever holds the matching private keyPrivate keyThe secret number that lets you spend your bitcoin. Whoever knows it controls the coins, so it must never be shared. could spend them. The Bitcoin Wiki says it is unknown whether Satoshi has that key.
References
- mempool.space, “Block 0”, 3 January 2009.
- Bitcoin Core on GitHub, “src/kernel/chainparams.cpp: the genesis block”, 16 October 2026.
- Bitcoin Wiki, “Genesis block”.
- The Times, “Chancellor Alistair Darling on brink of second bailout for banks”, 3 January 2009.
- Bitcoin Core on GitHub, “src/validation.cpp: special case for the genesis block”, 16 October 2026.
- Satoshi Nakamoto Institute, “Bitcoin v0.1 released”, 8 January 2009.
- mempool.space, “Address 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa (read 18 October 2026)”.