00000000000000000021e800c1e8df51b22c1588e5a624bea17e9faa34b2dc4a
You may be new to cryptocurrency and has stumbled on the above code as a hashtag trending on Twitter and Reddit.
And maybe you too are wondering what the fuss is all about. Well, here is why the community is losing sleep over it, what it might mean, and why you shouldn’t sweat over it.
The whole thing began with a tweet by Mark Wilcox, who included the hashtag #00000000000000000021e800c1e8df51b22c1588e5a624bea17e9faa34b2dc4a.
Well, this is a block hash- a randomly generated code for every new block of transactions mined on the blockchain and added to the ledger.
On June 19, at 19:32 UTC, block number 528249 mined by BTC.top, one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools. The code reveals the normal details found in any other block.
However, examining the hash itself reveals something else.
It has eighteen 0s followed by 21e8, and then two more 0s. Having the 18 zeroes isn’t anything strange as other blocks have had that before.
The issue is that this particular hash has taken the community back to the very first block mined by the creator of Bitcoin.
The genesis block
The hash of the very first block, what is called the “genesis block” is 000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f.
This code has fascinated bitcoin followers and aficionados ever since. It has two hex zeroes, more than the requirement at that time.
Furthermore, the time difference between getting block 1 is six days. Block 0 was initiated on 2009–01–03 at 18:15:05.
On the other hand, block 1 was mined on 2009–01–09 02:54:25 which is 6 days later.
It has made some in the community to ponder whether Satoshi wanted to pit that to the Genesis story that took six days and has day 7 as a rest day.
A possible explanation of the “21e8” phenomenon
Many have also brought up possible explanations with regard to the hash. Top of many in the bitcoin community has been issues like time travel, quantum computing, and even a message from Satoshi Nakamoto himself.
But according to this Medium post, “21e8 is important because it signifies an exceptionally simple theory of everything.
Often referred to as E8 Theory, it’s a physics preprint proposing a basis for a unified field theory, which attempts to describe all known fundamental interactions in physics and to stand as a possible theory of everything.”
To some people within the Bitcoin community having “21e8” within the hash can’t be explained as a coincidence. It simply means that Satoshi, the creator, and miner of the genesis block is/was a time traveler.
It has inspired tweets as this one here:
Many have also speculated that it could mean someone has succeeded in creating a quantum computer.
It is believed that a quantum computer has the capacity to manipulate the bitcoin network, leading to mining a future block.
In short, those supporting the theory of time travel, quantum computing, and Satoshi Nakamoto, say that it’s practically impossible to mine such a hash with current ASIC miners.
Debunked?
Even though the hash is still raising a lot of debate, there are those that have sought to debunk the explanations being thrown around.
One Redditor said:
“It’s not significantly more difficult than any other block–it has 18 leading zeros, same as just about every other block being mined (1/16 will have 19 leading zeros, 1/256 will have 20).”
Some within the r/bitcoin community have tied the buzz to proponents of quantum computers.
The same connection is linked with the 21e8.com site that is a proponent of the E8 theory. The heat that hash has generated will not go away anytime soon.
Will it affect Bitcoin prices?
The most likely scenario is that prices will not go up or decline on the basis of this debate. The community will talk about this, and the genesis block again and again.
