Good day steemians, In this post, I will be answering the following questions from the Lecture post of @awesononso

What is the Genesis Block of a Blockchain?

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain is a worldwide system with numerous nodes. It compiles a large number of transactions into 'blocks,' which are then linked together in a 'chain.' This so-called "blockchain" may be traced all the way back to the very first transaction. It's an open, digital, decentralized, digital database that's immutable and records all transactions for a specific crypto currency.

What is the genesis block?

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The genesis block is applied to any blockchain-based technology, the genesis block is the first block. It's the foundation upon which other blocks are built to build a chain of blocks, hence the name blockchain.

Block 0 is another name for genesis block. A reference to the preceding block is stored in each block of a blockchain. There is no prior block in the case of Genesis Block.

It signifies that the Genesis Block's "prior hash" value is set to 0 in technical terms. This signifies that before the Genesis Block, no data has been processed. All blocks that will come after will have sequential numbers beginning with 1 and a “prior hash” set to the preceding block's hash.
All new transactions in a new block have the genesis block's hash added to them. This combination is used to generate a one-of-a-kind hash. This process is repeated until the blockchain has been updated with all new blocks.

Many cryptocurrencies use the Genesis Block as a key building block. This block represents the beginning of the development of a revolutionary financial instrument that will alter the whole financial landscape.

Write on the Bitcoin Genesis Block and its significance.

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Bitcoin was created on Saturday, January 3, 2009. The initial set of 50 BTC was mined into existence with the formation of the very first Bitcoin block, known as the 'Genesis Block.'

The Bitcoin blockchain—and the cryptocurrency revolution—began with this genesis block.

The genesis block is the very first example of a peer-to-peer digital money secured by strong cryptographic principles, and it signifies the start of the immutable database that is the Bitcoin blockchain. But, unlike other blocks, it has various distinct qualities that add a layer of hidden significance that isn't immediately evident.

It also has a wonderful hidden message
Which was in HEX Sigscript:

5468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73

This hidden message was translated thus:

Chancellor in brinks of second bailout for banks

This is an heading in the The London Times dated 3rd of January of 2009, the same date that Bitcoin was created.

Image Source

This headline shows the financial system's downfall in 2009, which sparked the interest in creating Bitcoin. So from this we cannot say that Bitcoin came to solve the problem of the traditional financial system.

Because the genesis block is the first block ever created, it can't be linked to any other block, giving it some peculiar qualities. Satoshi's choice to not upload the 50 BTC award to Bitcoin's transaction database was most likely influenced by this.

The genesis block, like all other blocks, has a block reward attached to it. This payout was exactly 50 BTC when the initial block was mined, but due to a series of block reward halvings and over years, newly-mined blocks currently only return 6.25 BTC as a reward.

Normally, the miner who successfully mined the connected block would receive this subsidy, which they might then use as they pleased. The genesis block, on the other hand, is an exception to this norm.

Go to https://steemworld.org and locate the Steem Genesis Block (You must provide screenshots and sign in as proof of completion).

• From your browser, lunch https://steemworld.org

• We are to sign in From the top right corner of the page,

• Through the box provided for signing in, write your steem username (without "@") and your posting key provided in the space and Click on Ok.

• logged in successfully.

• click on Block Explorer

The steemit Genesis Block is called Block 1.
Leave "1" in that provided space.
Click on Ok

Now you can see the Steem Genesis Block.