Bitcoin Community Celebrates Genesis Block as Price Eyes $100,000
Bitcoin (BTC) traded mostly sideways on Friday as the community marked the 16th anniversary of the Genesis Block, the first block ever mined by the mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Notably, this day, also known as “Bitcoin’s Birthday” or “Proof of Keys Day,” highlights over 15 years of Bitcoin’s growth, from its origins as a decentralized financial system to its current prominence in global finance. The Genesis Block, also known as Block 0, was mined on January 3, 2009. Inside the block, Nakamoto included a hidden message referencing a headline from The Times reading, “Chancellor on the brink of the second bailout for banks.”
This phrase was a pointed critique of the global banking system, highlighting the financial instability and centralization that Bitcoin was designed to combat. Since then, Bitcoin has grown from a concept in a whitepaper to a major player in global finance.
Notably, the Genesis Block contained a reward of 50 BTC coins. As a tribute to Satoshi, people continue to send coins to the Genesis Block address, and to date, it holds a balance of approximately 100 BTC. These coins, however, remain unspendable due to the unique structure of the block. The unspent reward is symbolic of Bitcoin’s immutable and decentralized nature.
In terms of supply, Bitcoin operates on a capped model with only 21 million coins ever to be mined. As per Coinmarketcap data, approximately 19.8 million BTC have already been mined, meaning only 1.2 million remain to be discovered. This scarcity continues to drive demand, with many investors viewing Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and a store of value, similar to precious metals like gold.
That said, to market the day, major crypto exchanges and key figures in the ecosystem shared their thoughts on the occasion.
“Happy Birthday Bitcoin. The Genesis Block laid the foundation for the Bitcoin revolution and financial freedom,” Bitfinex, a leading crypto exchange, tweeted, echoing the sentiments of Binance, Kucoin, and others.
Elsewhere, popular Bitcoin maximalist and host of the “Bitcoin Knowledge” Podcast Trace Mayer took the opportunity to encourage Bitcoiners to celebrate the 16th birthday of Bitcoin by moving their holdings off exchanges and into self-custody.
On the other hand, Bitcoin investor Chou Juthica, who has 16,000 followers on X, took a moment to reflect on the anniversary, noting that while Bitcoin has seen increased adoption, legitimacy, and institutional support since the Genesis block, it has also become “less decentralized, more easily trackable, and more difficult to run a node.” She ended her message by expressing hope for the future stating, “Here’s to the next 16 years—may we bring back the magic and excitement that Bitcoin once sparked in our hearts and minds.”
With strong enthusiasm surrounding its anniversary, Bitcoin’s future looks promising. As institutional adoption grows and more investors view it as an alternative asset, its influence on the global economy and potential for higher prices strengthens.
Bitcoin was trading at $99,268 at press time, marking a modest 1.42% increase in the past 24 hours.
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Gaming company iCandy to launch ZKCandy L2 after $4M funding round
Animoca Brands and other VCs are invested to fund the new ZKcandy chain, supported by gaming company iCandy. While the Web3 gaming sector has attracted fewer internal investments, it appears some companies have plans to revive both on-chain activity and gaming.
ZKCandy, a new L2 created specifically for Web3 gaming, has closed a $4M round with Animoca Brands in participation. As Web3 gaming fell off the narrative map, insider funds are still supporting projects in a bid to revive the mix of traditional and on-chain games.
🎉 Funding the Future: #ZKcandy has successfully secured $4M 🎉
With participation from @WemixNetwork, @animocaventures, @TheSpartanGroup, @thejinkang (Perlone Capital), @Presto_Labs, @flowdesk_co, @LECCAVentures, @efrontier_io, @prometheuz_io
We're deeply thankful to our… pic.twitter.com/IXclsikc8K
— ZKcandy 🍬⛓️ – L2 Gaming ZK Chain (@ZKcandyHQ) January 6, 2025
Wemix, one of the leading producers of on-chain games also joined Animoca Brands in the funding round. Other participants in the funding included Spartan Group and Perlone Capital. The deal is the first significant funding in the new year, following 12 months of recovering VC inflows.
“We want to bring in top games and other large IPs and create a space where users can enjoy smooth, secure, and rewarding experiences,” said Lau Kin Wai, CEO of ZKCandy.
Animoca Brands and Wemix have also explored offering free-to-play games without the on-chain component. ZKCandy will offer a seamless tool to add tokens without requiring significant fees.
The project launched with the support of iCandy, an award-winning game developer focused on the Asia-Pacific region. The company has built more than 500 games, reaching a market of 300M players. The company produces idle games and puzzles, which have been combined in the past with on-chain activity and tokens.
The public gaming company is based in Australia. The gaming company itself has raised $37.5M through several funding rounds and is backed by a collection of unannounced investors.
Some of the funding rounds come with the support of Animoca Brands and eSports.com.
ZKCandy is based on ZKSync technology
ZKCandy uses ZKSync to create a new fast L2 network, which would become the basis for a new gaming ecosystem. Previously, other L1 and L2 chains carried games, though most became unsustainable due to the dropping price of their tokens.
Web3 games also tried to include NFT ownership, which led to an outflow of players during the 2022 bear market. Most surviving Web3 gaming projects put the player experience first, while being more cautious with tokens and in-game NFTs.
The funding for ZKCandy arrives after most L2 chains appear to be available at price discounts. ZKCandy has the advantage of being purpose-built to potentially attract top-level game builders.
The chain also has the potential for consulting with Wemix, one of the biggest gaming ecosystems. While overall play-to-earn gaming slowed down, some of the top games are still active, offering free-to-play versions.
Web3 gaming may be on the comeback trail
ZKCandy is still in the testnet stage, where the chain showed its capacity to carry 2.4M wallets. In addition to its on-chain readiness, ZKCandy has a lineup of 25 game titles at various stages of development, including one AAA-grade game with a Tier-1 Hollywood license.
In addition to the on-chain test, ZKCandy will seek out partnerships and promote its games through Telegram. The chain is preparing for its mainnet launch in the first half of 2025. ZKCandy also plans to build its gaming-related AI agents, expanding its Telegram presence as an EVM-compatible gaming network.
Gaming tokens have taken a hit to their valuation, but they have also proved to be resilient. The market recovered its value, rising to $26B in total capitalization. The category’s resurgence was led by the expansion of Immutable (IMX), which recently reclaimed $1.46.
Tokens from Animoca Brands’ portfolio are also going strong, with Gala Games (GALA) stabilizing at $0.04 and the Sandbox (SAND) rising to $0.69. Animoca Brands was among the biggest factors in reviving Web3 gaming, by supporting multiple funding rounds. The company, formerly a game producer, became a lead backer in a total of 20 funding rounds in 2024.
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