Ehh, why?

When a new node starts up, it initializes its block database with the genesis block, and then start synchronizing. However, it does not add the coinbase transaction from the genesis block to the transaction database. Hence, no client has that transaction in its database, and no node will consider spending it valid.

This may have been intentional by Satoshi, or a bug, but we certainly can't change it now.

And that's when not even we can change the genesis block, that banks start thinking "oh shi-"

Wow, learn something every day.

So is this a client implementation quirk or a protocol quirk? Seems like you are saying it is protocol level since you say we can't change it, but it seems to me like "initializing it's block database" is a client specific thing. Obviously you need 50%+ mining power to have made that change and it seems like, uh, not a priority at all.

Well, as I understand it, it can be changed at client level. So if developers change it in future clients, and people start using those clients, the genesis block will become usable.

However, I highly doubt this will be implemented to the client anytime soon, and even if it is implemented, people will upgrade their clients very slowly.

Block #0

http://blockchain.info/block-index/1

50 BTC coinbase tx to 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa (subsequently 3.54297866 BTC have been transfered to this address likely for "good luck).

You can see it as an implementation error/feature, but the protocol was (and still is, largely) defined by how the reference client behaves.

The only way to change it is if *all* users of Bitcoin agree - not just 51% and not just miners. Imagine we pushed a new version of the client with a spendable genesis block. Assume 70% of miners upgrade, and suddenly Satoshi reappears and spends the genesis block. Those 70% would start building a chain with the spend included, but older miners and nodes would not accept this chain, to them it would be invalid. The result would be a permanent fork, with 30% of mining power behind it. People using old clients would notice a decreased block speed (and some other security measures would get triggered), but apart from that, they keep living in their own little world. Such a permanently splitted blochchain is a recipe for disaster: every old coin that existed before the split can be spent once on each side of the fork...

The 0.0424242 BTC is what I contributed for luck.

~Bruno~

2042: 0.0424242 BTC  ^= 424242.4242 USD