Satoshi's Genesis Block Now Powers a Bitcoin Puzzle

A Puzzle Hidden in Plain Sight

An anonymous cryptographer has embedded a Bitcoin wallet puzzle directly on-chain, claiming that everything needed to solve it has been publicly available since day one. Galaxy Research analysts detected the unusual on-chain activity in block 963,629. A 255-byte text message was embedded through the OP_RETURN field in a transaction with a total size of 500 bytes. Galaxy Research characterised it as an "oversized OP_RETURN," a description that refers to its unusual size compared with ordinary data outputs, not a breach of Bitcoin's consensus rules.

Block 963,629 was mined by Foundry USA at approximately 19:45 UTC on 22 August. Despite its cryptographic ambition, the operation cost its creator only pennies, with a miner fee of just 250 satoshis (0.60 sat/vB).

Genesis Block Data as the Key

The author abandoned the conventional random generation of a seed phrase entirely, instead embedding the wallet's source data in publicly available information from the Genesis Block, which Satoshi Nakamoto mined 17 years ago. The embedded message states the wallet's entropy is extremely low, and that no backup was ever needed because all required data already existed in the first block ever recorded on the Bitcoin network.

The wallet itself uses a two-of-two multisig structure, meaning both keys must be present to unlock it. The creator has challenged the community to figure out how those keys were derived from Genesis Block data. Possible variables range from the block's hash to Satoshi's famous embedded headline, "The Times 03/Jan/2009."

The creator did not stop at publishing the message. They also launched an interactive challenge, complete with a paid-clue mechanism to help enthusiasts crack the code faster. Users can send $BTC transactions to the specified wallet address and receive clues in return, with larger transfers generating more precise hints.

The message does not reveal the creator's identity, the derivation formula, or a complete solution. No verified evidence shows the puzzle has been solved or that its associated reward has moved.

Sources:
Bitcoin puzzle hides wallet key in Genesis Block data, Crypto.news
Satoshi's Code Reopened: Someone Just Deciphered Bitcoin Puzzle Into Genesis Block Data, U.Today