The President of the Crypto Economy Organization announced that although members of the crypto community celebrate January 3 as Bitcoin's birthday, from a technical point of view this is incorrect.
Vytautas Kašėta explains: January 3, 2009 is not the real birthday of the Bitcoin network, since on this day Satoshi Nakamoto generated block #0 of the Bitcoin blockchain, known as Genesis. However, this block only acted as a starting point for the creation of the network, as it did not contain any actual transaction data.
“The Genesis block is used only to launch blockchain projects and formally anyone can generate it,” wrote Vytautas Kasheta in his blog.
The first non-zero block mined on January 9, 2009 marks the beginning of real transactions on the Bitcoin network, when the blockchain came to life as a functional medium of exchange. This distinction is important for understanding the true birth of the Bitcoin blockchain and its evolution.. While the Genesis block laid the foundation for the network, it was the creation of the first non-zero block that meant the actual start of transactional activity on the network, the crypto enthusiast is sure.
“The Genesis block is like a ceremonial cornerstone of a building,” agrees lecturer and Bitcoin enthusiast Andreas Antonopoulos.. “It marks the beginning of the project, but the building itself will not function until the first bricks are laid.”. This is the day the network first demonstrated its ability to securely transfer value peer-to-peer.”.
Experts agree that both dates have important historical significance. However, viewing the date January 9th as Bitcoin's “operational birthday” ensures a truer understanding of the Bitcoin network's transition from a conceptual design to a functioning network.
Earlier, the administration of the American mining company Marathon Digital assured shareholders of the company’s readiness for the changes that the Bitcoin halving should bring in the coming 2024.