"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"
(hexadecimal decoded to ascii)
Hash: 04ffff001d0104455468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f CoinBase 04ffff001d0104455468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f7 2206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73�� E
The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.
First block (block 0) extracted at 18:15 GMT on January 3, 2009, the first block of the Bitcoin network was born with an internal message addressed to the world.
The coinbase parameter contains the following text:
"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks".
The coinbase parameter contains the following text:
"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks".
Address 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa
Hash 000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f
You can also enter the hash of the block on this page and it will show you the internal message:
The Immortal Manifesto:
The Times Headline Embedded in the Heart of Bitcoin
On January 3, 2009, amidst the chilling aftermath of the global financial crisis, Satoshi Nakamoto mined the very first block of the Bitcoin blockchain. This foundational block, known as the "Genesis Block" contained an initial reward of 50 Bitcoins and a striking piece of text embedded in the coinbase field:
"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"
This headline from The Times of London was not a random choice; it was a rallying cry, an immutable piece of evidence, and a declaration of Bitcoin's mission. Its significance resonates deeply, establishing the historical and philosophical context for the creation of the digital currency.
- The Historical Context: The Problem to Be Solved
The year 2008 was defined by the housing bubble collapse and the credit crisis, forcing governments worldwide to inject trillions of taxpayer dollars into the banking system to avert total financial meltdown. The crisis exposed the fragility of the fiat money system and the profound public loss of trust in the centralized institutions that were supposed to be the custodians of stability.
The message in the headline encapsulates this failure: while governments and centralized banks operated under a system based on trust (a trust that had been betrayed), Bitcoin was launched as a system based on cryptographic proof and decentralization, removing the need for fiduciary intermediaries entirely.
- The Technical Significance: The Timestamp
Technically, the message embedded in the Genesis Block's coinbase field serves two critical functions:
Proof of Time (Timestamp): By including a dated newspaper headline, Satoshi demonstrated that the Genesis Block was not pre-mined. It provided irrefutable evidence that the block was mined after January 3, 2009, permanently linking Bitcoin's creation to that specific moment in time. This linking is essential for the integrity of the blockchain's immutable ledger.
Genesis Uniqueness: The coinbase field is typically reserved for a small amount of arbitrary data chosen by the miner (often including their address for the reward). By using this space for the headline, Satoshi stamped the block with a unique signature, setting it apart from every other block and cementing its status as the unalterable starting point of the network.
- The Philosophical Manifesto: A Solution to the Bailout
The philosophical importance of the message is its deepest legacy. It is, in essence, Bitcoin's mission statement.
Bitcoin was born as a direct response to the need for a currency whose supply and rules could not be manipulated by politics or the necessity of bank bailouts.
The Times headline underscores the centralized and arbitrary nature of the fiat system: the fate of banks depends on the decisions of a "Chancellor" (Finance Minister).
Bitcoin, conversely, is governed by code (the Protocol) and mathematics (Proof-of-Work). No single entity can "bail out" Bitcoin, nor can anyone manipulate its hard supply limit of 21 million coins.
This message etched the contrast between the imposition of debt onto citizens to save failing institutions and the financial liberation offered by a decentralized system. The The Times headline serves as a constant reminder that Bitcoin is not just a new technology, but a political-economic movement born out of systemic distrust.
