Steemit Cypto Academy Season 5 Beginners' Course- Homework Post for Task 3 : The Genesis Block

Homework Task

• What is the Genesis block?
• What are the significances of the Genesis Block?
• Explore the Bitcoin Genesis block and indicate how many transactions so far and the number of bitcoins.

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Greetings everyone,
Before I present my homework post, I would like to acknowledge professor @awesononso and Crypto Academy Community for this educative and informative lecture. The topic for this task is The Genesis Block.

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WHAT IS THE GENESIS BLOCK?

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The Genesis Block of a blockchain as the name implies is the first block that was mined on the Blockchain. As we all know, the genesis of something is the origin or beginning of that thing. The biblical meaning of the word "Genesis" is "In the beginning" and apart from the fact that it is the first book of the Bible it also narrates the history of the world or the beginning of the creation of the world or how it came into existence.

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A block chain consist of series of blocks used to store information relating to transactions that occur on a blockchain network. The Genesis block is also known as the Block 0. It is the first block in the blockchain upon which other blocks are added or the basis on which additional blocks are added.

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The Genesis block can also be referrred to as the first block of Bitcoin ever mined and it is the foundation of the Bitcoin trading system. The Genesis block defines how all other blocks would be formed to make up the entire chain. It can be considered as the "root" of the blockchain.

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WHAT ARE THE SIGNIFICANCES OF THE GENESIS BLOCK?

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The Genesis Block is so important to the blockchain system. Listed below are some of the significances of the Genesis Block.

• The creation or introduction of Genesis block helped with the massive use of cryptocurrency which we can all see today. We can simply say that the introduction of Genesis block in the blockchain helped with the cryptocurrency boom we are all witnessing nowadays.

• The Genesis Block is the only block that does not reference a predecessor block in a blockchain. The Genesis block also forms the very foundation of a blockchain.

• The Genesis Block serves to guarantee communication between two nodes since they can only be paired if they have the same genesis block.

• The Genesis Block is considered the start of the Bitcoin blockchain and the beginning of the cryptocurrency revolution.

• The introduction of Genesis block helped with the creation of a new medium of of exchange through cryptocurrency. Currently over 10,000 cryptocurrencies are being created.

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EXPLORE THE BITCOIN GENESIS BLOCK AND INDICATE HOW MANY TRANSACTIONS SO FAR AND THE NUMBER OF BITCOINS

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Source

On 3rd January, 2009, Bitcoin pseudonymous developer, Satoshi Nakamoto created the Genesis block, he initiated a transaction that led to the mining of the Bitcoin Genesis block. This transaction led to the creation of cryptocurrencies which are taking over the world today.

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The world hasn't being the same again since Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin network about 12 years ago. The Bitcoin network came into existence two months after Satoshi published the Whitepaper on 31st October, 2008.

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With the creation of the very first Bitcoin block, which is known as the Genesis block, the first set of 50 BTC was mined and the first set of 50 BTC came into existence. The introduction of the Genesis block became the beginning of the cryptocurrency revolution. As a way of saying "thank you" to Satoshi Nakamoto, the address keeps receiving BTC from members of the crypto community.

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It is widely believed that Bitcoin was released to provide an alternative monetary system designed to resist the challenges faced by many traditional currencies.

Steps to Explore the Bitcoin Genesis Block

• Search for https://www.blockchain.com

• Click on Explorer to display live data, charts and transactions.

• Search for the Block 0 using the hash of the block which is 000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f

^{Click on the explorer to display live data, charts and transactions.}

Below is the information in the above screenshot

• Confirmations - 718, 603
• Timescan - 2009- 01- 03 18:15
• Height - 0
• Miner - Unknown
• Number of transactions - 1
• Difficulty - 1.00
• Block Reward - 50.00000000

In the above image the address has transacted 3,204 times on on the Bitcoin Blockchain. It has received a total of 68. 52949707 BTC ($ 2,908,559.07) which is the current value of the address.

CONCLUSION

The introduction of the Genesis Block brought about the cryptocurrencies that serves as a medium of exchange and a means of trading.

We also discussed that Genesis Block is the fundamental basis for Bitcoins' trading system. It also marks the initial creation of a revolutionary financial instrument that changes the entire financial landscape.

It is important that we all learn more about Crypto since it has really come to stay.

Thank you all. It's a pleasure to be part of this wonderful community.