<p>I was aware that the Genesis block's reward was unspendable, and that there was no UTXO for it in the UTXO Set. I thought that this was due to the Genesis block being hardcoded and the actual synchronization beginning with block #1. I have heard people in the past referring to the unspendability of the reward as a quirk or bug. <a href="https://twitter.com/midmagic/status/1119446913479168000" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Midmagic</a> mentions that it's a hardcoded exception that made the Genesis Block coinbase unspendable.</p>

<p>Can someone elaborate in detail what makes Genesis block coinbase unspendable?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T19:12:50.840Z
I think the existing questions are a bit outdated, so here goes: Both. Originally it was indeed due to either an oversight or intentionally that when the database was initialized, it would not include the genesis block. As that code was rewritten, it was replaced with an explicit exception to maintain compatibility.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T19:23:44.110Z
@PieterWuille I've reopened the question so you can answer it instead of commenting. :)
Murch
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T19:25:00.073Z
Or maybe rather, you could post an up-to-date answer on the duplicate target?
Murch
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T22:59:06.470Z
In [this](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/77049/85140) post, @JBaczuk explains how it *can* be made spendable. Perhaps this contains some relevant pointers?
Mason Ticehurst
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-21T02:19:55.800Z
Yeah, I had closed it as a duplicate of https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/10009/5406 previously, but then Pieter wrote a great comment here. I guess closing as a duplicate is still correct, but I'd love for Pieter's comment to become an answer on the duplicate target.
Murch
<genesis-block><history><utxo-set>
What in detail makes the Coinbase in the Genesis Block unspendable?
Murch
# What in detail makes the Coinbase in the Genesis Block unspendable?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-20)

I was aware that the Genesis block's reward was unspendable, and that there was no UTXO for it in the UTXO Set. I thought that this was due to the Genesis block being hardcoded and the actual synchronization beginning with block #1. I have heard people in the past referring to the unspendability of the reward as a quirk or bug. [Midmagic](https://twitter.com/midmagic/status/1119446913479168000) mentions that it's a hardcoded exception that made the Genesis Block coinbase unspendable.

Can someone elaborate in detail what makes Genesis block coinbase unspendable?

**Tags:** genesis-block, history, utxo-set

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think the existing questions are a bit outdated, so here goes: Both. Originally it was indeed due to either an oversight or intentionally that when the database was initialized, it would not include the genesis block. As that code was rewritten, it was replaced with an explicit exception to maintain compatibility.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I've reopened the question so you can answer it instead of commenting. :)  
> **username_0**: Or maybe rather, you could post an up-to-date answer on the duplicate target?  
> **username_2**: In [this](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/77049/85140) post, @JBaczuk explains how it *can* be made spendable. Perhaps this contains some relevant pointers?  
> **username_0**: Yeah, I had closed it as a duplicate of https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/10009/5406 previously, but then username_1 wrote a great comment here. I guess closing as a duplicate is still correct, but I'd love for username_1's comment to become an answer on the duplicate target.  

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## 0 answers

