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Lonelypumpkins on Nostr: Greetings Central PA Bitcoiners! Happy Genesis Block Day! Sixteen years ago today, ...
Greetings Central PA Bitcoiners!
Happy Genesis Block Day!
Sixteen years ago today, Satoshi mined the first bitcoin block, known as the genesis block. When a miner finds a block, there's a small text field in which they can put whatever message in it they want. Modern mining pools usually use the name of their pool. Satoshi chose the following for block #0:
The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks
There are two reasons for this. By including that day's headline from a major newspaper (London's The Times), Satoshi timestamped the block that he cast. This proved that he/she/they hadn't been mining on their own, keeping the mined blocks a secret, and preventing others from competing to mine for those new bitcoin. The crux of this reason is that it shows that it was launched fairly and on the date that he broadcast it to the network. The second reason is more symbolic: the 2008 financial crisis, and the government bailout interventions that followed, represented a breach of trust and alienated many, including Satoshi:
"The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.”
The white paper laid out the framework for bitcoin: a new digital asset and decentralized payment network that doesn't rely on having to trust entities that have repeatedly proven themselves untrustworthy.
Several years ago, bitcoin educator and podcaster Trace Mayer first proposed and promoted Proof of Keys Day, corresponding with the anniversary of the genesis block. The idea is that whoever has bitcoin on exchanges should withdraw them on January 3rd every year, and in doing so, force exchanges who might be running a fractional reserve to be exposed.
IMHO, Proof of Keys Day is a great idea, and every bitcoiner should know the difference of what it means to hold their own wealth vs some exchange's IOU for bitcoin. However, bitcoiners who know this important distinction very likely don't keep sats on an exchange in the first place. If you do happen to have bitcoin on an exchange and want to celebrate Proof of Keys Day by making the exchange prove that they have the bitcoin they say they do, and you are comfortable and familiar with your self-custody setup, by all means please celebrate and withdraw! I do wonder about how many people realistically (1) have a bitcoin balance on an exchange, (2) are comfortable with self-custody and have software or hardware wallet, and (3) have Proof of Keys Day on their radar. Cheers nonetheless!
Remember, friends...treat bitcoin exchanges like you treat public bathrooms. Walk in, do your business, wash your hands, and walk right back out.
Happy Genesis Block Day and Happy Proof of Keys Day!
Happy Genesis Block Day!
Sixteen years ago today, Satoshi mined the first bitcoin block, known as the genesis block. When a miner finds a block, there's a small text field in which they can put whatever message in it they want. Modern mining pools usually use the name of their pool. Satoshi chose the following for block #0:
The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks
There are two reasons for this. By including that day's headline from a major newspaper (London's The Times), Satoshi timestamped the block that he cast. This proved that he/she/they hadn't been mining on their own, keeping the mined blocks a secret, and preventing others from competing to mine for those new bitcoin. The crux of this reason is that it shows that it was launched fairly and on the date that he broadcast it to the network. The second reason is more symbolic: the 2008 financial crisis, and the government bailout interventions that followed, represented a breach of trust and alienated many, including Satoshi:
"The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.”
The white paper laid out the framework for bitcoin: a new digital asset and decentralized payment network that doesn't rely on having to trust entities that have repeatedly proven themselves untrustworthy.
Several years ago, bitcoin educator and podcaster Trace Mayer first proposed and promoted Proof of Keys Day, corresponding with the anniversary of the genesis block. The idea is that whoever has bitcoin on exchanges should withdraw them on January 3rd every year, and in doing so, force exchanges who might be running a fractional reserve to be exposed.
IMHO, Proof of Keys Day is a great idea, and every bitcoiner should know the difference of what it means to hold their own wealth vs some exchange's IOU for bitcoin. However, bitcoiners who know this important distinction very likely don't keep sats on an exchange in the first place. If you do happen to have bitcoin on an exchange and want to celebrate Proof of Keys Day by making the exchange prove that they have the bitcoin they say they do, and you are comfortable and familiar with your self-custody setup, by all means please celebrate and withdraw! I do wonder about how many people realistically (1) have a bitcoin balance on an exchange, (2) are comfortable with self-custody and have software or hardware wallet, and (3) have Proof of Keys Day on their radar. Cheers nonetheless!
Remember, friends...treat bitcoin exchanges like you treat public bathrooms. Walk in, do your business, wash your hands, and walk right back out.
Happy Genesis Block Day and Happy Proof of Keys Day!