Crypto Academy: Season 3 Week 2| Homework Post For [awesononso]-The genesis block

I am so excited about the knowledge I’ve acquired about the genesis block. All thanks to professor @awesononso for making it clear to our understanding. This post is my submission on the homework post assigned to us after the lecture.

The Bitcoin Genesis Block

There is a beginning to everything. The blockchain isn’t left out. Almost all the blockchain platforms have their first ever blocks known as “Genesis block”(although some may come with a common genesis block). These genesis blocks does not reference a previous block. With regards to Bitcoin, the genesis block produced un spendable coins.

_{Details of Bitcoin genesis block Source:Blockchain.com}
The Bitcoin network was outdoored in 2009 through the release of the genesis block of BTC. This brought to the start of BTC and the world of cryptocurrencies.

The Genesis block of BTC is now referred to as “Block 0” and it was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto. The name preassumably used to represent the individual or group behind the mining of the genises block. The reward of the genesis block was 50 BTC which was transferred to the BTC address 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa
The 50 BTC are seemingly sunspendable due to an intentional bug added to the source code of the genesis block which made it impossible for transactions. However, any other BTC that is sent to the first address can be spent by the owner,assumed to be Satoshi. There have been additional BItcoins to the address of the genesis block till now. These additional coins are preassumed to serve as a thank you message to Satoshi or the senders May have used the address as their change address.

Exploring the transaction address of the genesis block Source

The period between the creation of the genesis block and the second block was 6days instead of 10 minutes as it is today. Satoshi added a hidden message in a line in the genesis block’s code as a HEX string which reads this message below in a reverted form : ”The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

Significants of the genesis block

1. It has served as a trusted reference source: assuming Satoshi just announced that he/she/they have started the Bitcoin network so everyone can start mining. Without showing the genesis block, it would have been very difficult, because there wouldn’t have been a consensus point where every miner would use as a guideline for mining. Miners were fortunate that the genesis block was published which served as a basis of trust and guideline to aspiring and potential miners the opportunity to venture in.
2. It proved the potential of the blockchain technology: Before the introduction of the genesis block, blockchain was in existence. The blockchain started around 1991, that is 17 years before Satoshi announced the Bitcoin network with the genesis block. People didn’t pay much attention to the blockchain technology although it was applied in some aspects of life but it was not recognized as it is today and the genesis block has played a very important role in proving the potential of the blockchain. It proved how decentralized the blockchain is. That is why many big companies have adopted the blockchain technology in all aspects of life.
3. It served as a starting point to all the cryptocurrencies at large. it is a fact that BTC is the first crypto currency and it was introduced to to whole world after the genesis block was mined. This has brought decentralization to the economy. Now there are over 10,000 cryptocurrencies circulating and people have started to embrace it. Big businesses and organizations are now accepting crypto currency as a form of payment.

Exploring The Steem Genesis Block

The steem genesis block can can be explored through steemworld.org The steem genesis block is refered as block “1” . This block was created on 25th March 2021.
The following is describes the process to view the steem genesis block.

1. Visit steemworld.org
2. I have signed in with my steemit account
   
   
   
3. After visiting the steemworld.org , click on “block explorer “ and click okay to verify you’re visiting the steem genesis block. Thus, Block 1
   
   
   
   
   
4. The details of the steem genesis block is shown below
   
   
   

Conclusion

All thanks to professor @awesononso for coming out with this lecture. It has really helped me explore more into the genesis block of BTC and the mysteries behind it.

Cc:
@awesononso