16th Anniversary of the Bitcoin Genesis Block
The 16th anniversary of the mining of Bitcoin's Genesis Block occurred on January 3rd, 2025.
What is Genesis Block Day?
“Genesis Block Day” celebrates the mining of the Bitcoin Blockchain’s very first block.
This block was first mined on January 3, 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto.
What is the “Genesis Block”?
Every transaction that has ever taken place on the Bitcoin Blockchain exists in what are known as “blocks”.
These “blocks” contain all of the transaction data that has taken place since the previous block.
However, the genesis block has no previous transaction data to reference, which makes it unique.
The base of the whole blockchain is this block, which is hardcoded into the Bitcoin software.
Genesis Block data courtesy of Blockstream's block explorer.
Because it serves as the foundation for the whole blockchain and is the source of all succeeding blocks, it is known as the Genesis Block.
It is also called “Block 0”, though earlier bitcoin clients called it “Block 1”.
Making the Genesis Block (Bitcoin Genesis Day)
As previously stated, the genesis block was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym for the person or persons who invented bitcoin, on January 3, 2009.
Nakamoto added the following message to the block using the OP_RETURN function which allowed any miner to add a short message inside the block.
Here is what he wrote:
“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”
The front page of The Times for January 3, 2009.
This message is a reference to the financial crisis, which many believe was caused by the reckless monetary policies of central banks.
These policies are largely the reason for Nakamoto’s creation of bitcoin.
In addition to the message, there is a single transaction in this block - the 50 BTC reward for mining it, which you can see below.
Why is Genesis Block Day Important?
Bitcoin provides an alternative to conventional fiat currencies, which are created and governed by central banks.
Users of Bitcoin can send and receive payments without the aid of a middleman or a centralized authority authorizing them.
In addition, an entire industry of service-providers and products developed around the invention of bitcoin.
Genesis Block Day marks the first time a such a currency was made possible.
That’s why enthusiasts and all the people who service bitcoin and make it better celebrate it every year.
Proof of Keys Day
Proof of Keys Day, also celebrated on January 3, was started by the now-infamous Trace Mayer, who rallied people to withdraw their bitcoin en masse from centralized exchanges and custodians. Only by withdrawing their BTC can people ensure companies of the burgeoning industry aren’t taking part on old and established vices like fractional reserve banking.
By holding bitcoin in a wallet you create, you ensure that only you can move the bitcoin held in that wallet. When a third party custodian holds your bitcoin for you, they are the final arbiter over those funds - you have only an IOU.
Why is Proof of Keys Day Important?
In the conventional financial system, banks and other financial institutions act as intermediaries.
They hold your money and determine how it is utilized and who it can be sent to.
However, with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, you can control your own assets.
Proof of Keys day is important because it sets a regularly scheduled “bank run” on custodians.
If a custodian does not have all of the coins it claims to have, this will become obvious as they will not have the necessary funds to cover their withdrawal obligations.
In theory, this should incentivize custodians to stay solvent and not gamble with user funds.
However, this only works if enough people participate in Proof of Keys Day.
Usually, very few participate, especially in altcoin communities.
The cost of this non-participation can be seen in a big way almost every single month.
The most recent example would be the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
FTX used customer deposits to fund risky bets made by its partner fund, Alameda Research.
The collapse of FTX is yet one more example of the dangers of 3rd party custodians.
Once Alameda had lost those funds, they could not meet customer withdrawal requests, and the whole organization was destroyed almost overnight.
Participation Instructions for Proof of Keys Day
To participate in Proof of Keys Day, you only need to make sure all of the coins you own are held in wallets you control.
This can be accomplished as easily as transferring your Bitcoin from an exchange or wallet provider to a self-custodial wallet, such as a hardware wallet or a software wallet.
