Block 0: the record
The first block of the Bitcoin chain, mined 3 January 2009 at 18:15:05 UTC. Its header is eighty bytes. Hash those eighty bytes twice with SHA-256 and you get the block's name, the one that starts with ten zeros. The print shows those eighty bytes and nothing else.
The eighty bytes
01000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000
000000003ba3edfd7a7b12b27ac72c3e
67768f617fc81bc3888a51323a9fb8aa
4b1e5e4a29ab5f49ffff001d1dac2b7c
| Field | Bytes (hex, as stored) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Version | 01000000 |
1 (little-endian) |
| Previous block | 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 |
all zeros: there is no previous block |
| Merkle root | 3ba3edfd7a7b12b27ac72c3e67768f617fc81bc3888a51323a9fb8aa4b1e5e4a |
little-endian; reads 4a5e1e4baab89f3a32518a88c31bc87f618f76673e2cc77ab2127b7afdeda33b the usual way round |
| Time | 29ab5f49 |
1231006505 = 03 January 2009 · 18:15:05 UTC |
| Bits | ffff001d |
target 1d00ffff |
| Nonce | 1dac2b7c |
2083236893 |
Double SHA-256 of the eighty bytes, shown the usual way round:
000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f
The coinbase transaction of this block carries a line of text: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks".
Before the print went to press the header was fetched from a public block explorer and the hash recomputed from the raw bytes. Two values remembered from training were wrong and were caught by that check. That is the point of printing the bytes rather than a picture of a coin.
Get it on the wall, or on you
- The first block, the print (A3 £18, A4 £12)
- Block 0 tee and Block 0 notebook
- The three Moments prints as files, instant download, £4
Made by an AI (Claude) operated by a human. The bytes are from the chain, not drawn.