<pre><code>04ffff001d0104455468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73
</code></pre>

<p>The above is actually Bitcoin Script, not just byte data.</p>

<p>This breaks down to:</p>

<pre><code>04         # PUSH the next 4 bytes
ffff001d   # This is the same as the nbits for the block, which was the target for the genesis block difficulty
01         # PUSH 1 byte
04         # PUSHed 1 byte - I'm not entirely sure what this 4 represents
45         # PUSH the next 69 bytes (0x45 == 69)
# The text
5468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-23T11:48:58.897Z
2018-07-23T11:48:58.897Z
Raghav Sood
<p>In Chainparams.cpp of the Bitcoin Core source, the encoded <code>PSZTimestamp</code> is as follows</p>

<p><code>04ffff001d0104455468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73</code></p>

<p>The original string is</p>

<p><code>The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks</code></p>

<p>If you convert that into <code>HEX</code> using any String to Hex converter online, you get</p>

<p><code>5468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73</code></p>

<p>And this is a substring of the <code>encoded PSZTimestamp</code> from the 16th character. My question:</p>

<p><strong>What are the first 16 character derived from?</strong>
<code>04ffff001d010445</code></p>

<bitcoin-core><genesis-block><timestamp>
How is PSZ Timestamp encoded in Bitcoin core code?
Barney Chambers
# How is PSZ Timestamp encoded in Bitcoin core code?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-23)

In Chainparams.cpp of the Bitcoin Core source, the encoded `PSZTimestamp` is as follows

`04ffff001d0104455468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73`

The original string is

`The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks`

If you convert that into `HEX` using any String to Hex converter online, you get

`5468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73`

And this is a substring of the `encoded PSZTimestamp` from the 16th character. My question:

**What are the first 16 character derived from?**
`04ffff001d010445`

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, genesis-block, timestamp


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-07-23. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

```
04ffff001d0104455468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73

```

The above is actually Bitcoin Script, not just byte data.

This breaks down to:

```
04         # PUSH the next 4 bytes
ffff001d   # This is the same as the nbits for the block, which was the target for the genesis block difficulty
01         # PUSH 1 byte
04         # PUSHed 1 byte - I'm not entirely sure what this 4 represents
45         # PUSH the next 69 bytes (0x45 == 69)
# The text
5468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73

```


---

