Blocknet started with nothing allocated to anyone. This page shows you what the genesis block contains, which consensus rules make a premine, dev fund or treasury impossible, how to check both on the explorer and in the source code, and how to start mining BNT yourself on bntpool.com.
Did Blocknet have a premine?
No. Blocknet's genesis block, created on February 15, 2026, holds no transactions, so no coins existed before mining began. Since block 1, every block has paid its reward in a single coinbase output worth exactly the scheduled amount, so every BNT in circulation was mined by someone running the proof of work.
There is no allocation to founders, developers, investors or a foundation, either in the genesis block or in any block after it. The coin supply comes from block rewards and nothing else, and the rules that enforce this are part of consensus, so every node on the network checks them on every block.
What is in Blocknet's genesis block?
The genesis block is hard-coded in the daemon, so every node starts from the same block 0. Its fields are fixed:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Height | 0 |
| Timestamp | February 15, 2026, 20:58:38 EST (01:58:38 UTC on February 16) |
| Message | "Wired 2026/02/15 - The Nothing That Has the Potential to Be Anything" |
| Previous hash | SHA3-256 of the message: a94a7f2b…d909df |
| Difficulty | 4, the network minimum |
| Nonce | 0 |
| Transactions | none |
| Merkle root | all zeros |
The message is the headline of a Wired story dated February 15, 2026, and the code cites the article as its source. Because the previous hash is derived from the message, the headline is fixed into the identity of block 0 and everything built on it.
The comment above the genesis function in the daemon says it plainly: "Genesis has no transactions - no coinbase, no burned coins. First real block at height 1 will have the first coinbase." Validation backs the comment up. A node checking block 0 rejects it unless it has exactly zero transactions and an all-zero merkle root, so even a modified node could not slip coins into the genesis block without being rejected by everyone else.
How does consensus rule out a dev fund or treasury?
Every Blocknet block must start with exactly one coinbase transaction, and that coinbase must have no inputs, a zero fee and exactly one output whose amount equals the block reward for that height. There is nowhere to put a second payment, so a dev fund, founder reward or treasury output cannot exist on-chain.
Several checks in the daemon work together here:
- One coinbase per block. The first transaction must be a coinbase, and no other transaction in the block may be one.
- One output, no inputs. A coinbase with zero or two outputs, or with an input, is invalid.
- The exact reward. Blocknet hides amounts with Pedersen commitments, but the coinbase is a special case. Its blinding factor is derived from public data (the transaction's public key and the block height), so every node can rebuild the commitment for the scheduled reward and compare. If the output commits to any other amount, the block is rejected.
- An empty memo. The coinbase memo must be empty, so block rewards can't carry extra data either.
Ordinary transactions can't create coins. Each one must balance: the inputs equal the outputs plus the fee, checked on the commitments themselves, and every output carries a Bulletproofs range proof showing its amount is in a valid range and can't be negative. That is how amounts stay private while issuance still follows the schedule exactly.
How can you check Blocknet's fair launch yourself?
You don't have to take anyone's word for it. Both the chain and the code are public.
On the explorer. Open block 0 on the Blocknet explorer. It lists 0 transactions, a merkle root of 64 zeros, a nonce of 0 and a previous hash beginning a94a7f2b. The block reward line shows the schedule's amount for that height, but with no transactions in the block there is no output to receive it. Then open block 1: its only transaction is a coinbase with no inputs and one output, the first coins on the chain.
You can confirm that the previous hash really is the hash of the genesis message. With OpenSSL 1.1.1 or newer, run:
printf '%s' 'Wired 2026/02/15 - The Nothing That Has the Potential to Be Anything' | openssl dgst -sha3-256
The output ends in a94a7f2b8685ff3c7dc76de5ad0f13568629b1f0e0495440c58a3ed3d0d909df, the same value the explorer shows for block 0.
In the code. The daemon is open source at github.com/blocknetprivacy/core. In block.go, look for these functions:
git clone https://github.com/blocknetprivacy/core.git
cd core
grep -n "func GetGenesisBlock\|func validateGenesisBlock\|func validateCoinbaseConsensus" block.go
GetGenesisBlock builds block 0 with an empty transaction list, validateGenesisBlock rejects any block 0 that has transactions, and validateCoinbaseConsensus enforces the single output worth the block reward. In transaction.go, validateCoinbase and verifyCommitmentBalance cover the coinbase shape and the balance check for ordinary transactions.
Why does a fair launch matter to miners?
For miners, a fair launch means the block reward is the whole story of where coins come from.
- All new coins go to miners. With no premine and no treasury output, 100% of issuance is paid to the people who find blocks. Block 1 paid 723.25093035 BNT in its single coinbase output, and every block since has paid its full reward the same way.
- Everyone plays by the same rules. Since block 1, the only way to earn new BNT has been to run the proof of work. The reward schedule is set in code and applies equally to the first miner and to someone starting today.
- The proof of work suits ordinary computers. Blocknet uses Argon2id with 2 GiB of memory per hash, which is designed to resist ASICs. That keeps mining open to desktops, laptops and servers people already own. The Argon2id explainer on seineminer.com covers why.
- Issuance is easy to audit. Every coin traces back to a coinbase output that every node checked, so the total ever issued at any height follows directly from the reward schedule.
If you are new to the coin as a whole, What is Blocknet? covers privacy, payment by name and the wallets.
How do you mine Blocknet yourself?
Taking part in a fair launch means mining. The quickest way is the seine miner on bntpool.com:
- Get an address. Install the official Blocknet command-line wallet or desktop wallet and copy your address, or use a Blocknet ID shortname such as
@name. - Download seine. Get the archive for Windows, macOS or Linux from seineminer.com and unzip it. There is nothing to install.
- Run it and accept the defaults. Start seine, paste your address or
@name, and press Enter to accept the default pool,stratum+tcp://bntpool.com:3333. Seine starts hashing right away and tunes threads and kernels while it runs, on your CPU and on NVIDIA graphics cards on Windows and Linux. - Watch your miner. Look up your address on the stats page to see your hashrate, shares and balance, and follow the pool's finds on the blocks page.
The guide to mining on bntpool.com covers logging in with an address or name and checking your miner, the Get Started page lists the pool's payout settings, and the how to mine Blocknet guide walks through installing seine step by step on every system.
Frequently asked questions
Did Blocknet have a premine?
No. Blocknet's genesis block, created on February 15, 2026, contains no transactions at all, so no coins existed before mining began. The first coins came from the block reward of block 1, and every BNT since then has been paid to whoever mined the block it came from.
Does Blocknet have a dev fund or treasury?
No. Consensus allows exactly one coinbase transaction per block, and that transaction must have exactly one output worth exactly the block reward. There is no second output for a developer, founder or treasury, and a block that tries to add one is rejected by every node on the network.
When was Blocknet's genesis block created?
The genesis block's timestamp is February 15, 2026 at 20:58:38 EST, which is 01:58:38 UTC on February 16. It carries the message "Wired 2026/02/15 - The Nothing That Has the Potential to Be Anything", and its previous-block hash is the SHA3-256 hash of that message.
How can I verify Blocknet's fair launch myself?
Open block 0 on the Blocknet explorer and you will see zero transactions and an all-zero merkle root. Then read the open-source daemon code, where the genesis block is hard-coded with an empty transaction list and the coinbase check accepts one output equal to the block reward.
How do I start mining Blocknet?
Download the seine miner for Windows, macOS or Linux, run it, and paste your Blocknet address or Blocknet ID shortname when it asks. Press Enter to accept the default pool, bntpool.com, and seine starts mining right away. You can then look up your address on the bntpool.com stats page.