First transaction in a block

+2 votes
What is this first transaction the block that is returned via OP_RETURN? Is this a transaction created by the mining node or is it just a creation transaction to create the block?
asked Sep 4, 2017 by RobertJ

2 Answers

+2 votes
The first transaction is the coinbase transaction, as a reward to the miner.
answered Sep 4, 2017 by MaSsv
+1 vote

The first transaction is called the coinbase transaction, and it serves two purposes:

  • In chains with a miner reward system, it indicates the address of the miner who collects that reward (this is exactly like bitcoin).
  • In chains with mining based on permissions, it contains the signature proving which miner address generated that block (this is a MultiChain addition): https://www.multichain.com/developers/mining-block-signatures/
answered Sep 4, 2017 by MultiChain
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