The genesis block is the first BlockBlockA batch of transactions added to a blockchain in one go, together with a reference to the block before it. in a BlockchainBlockchainA public ledger where transactions are grouped into blocks, each linked to the one before, so past records can't be altered without it showing., block number 0. Every other block links back to it, each one through the block before. Bitcoin's genesis block was created on 3 January 2009 by Satoshi NakamotoSatoshi NakamotoThe pseudonym of Bitcoin's creator, who published the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008, launched the network in 2009 and disappeared soon after..
The message in the block
In the block's first transaction, Satoshi included this text:
The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks
It is a headline from that day's edition of The Times: the UK Chancellor was on the brink of rescuing the banks for a second time. The headline proves that the block could not have been created before that day. It appeared in the middle of the financial crisis, and many also read it as a message about the banking system. Bitcoin, after all, was designed to work without banks or other middlemen.
A reward that can never be spent
The genesis block came with a block rewardBlock rewardWhat a miner receives for adding a block to the chain: newly created bitcoin plus the network fees in the block. of 50 bitcoin, like every block in the early years. Those 50 bitcoin can never be spent, though. The block is written directly into Bitcoin's software, and its reward was never added to the record of coins that can be spent. Nobody knows whether Satoshi did this on purpose.
What to keep in mind
Every blockchain network has its own genesis block, marking its beginning. The Ethereum network, for example, launched on 30 July 2015. A new coin built from another coin's code also gets a new genesis block. The exception is a coin created in a ForkForkA change to a blockchain's rules; if not every node follows the change, the chain can split into two separate chains, each with its own coin., which shares all its earlier history with the original chain.
Everything in Myntkaup Learn is written and regularly reviewed by the Myntkaup editorial team. It is for education and is not investment advice. Editorial policy. Updated 18 October 2026.