{"id":10537,"date":"2023-05-28T10:19:17","date_gmt":"2023-05-28T10:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/?p=10537"},"modified":"2025-09-10T15:22:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T15:22:58","slug":"what-is-a-coinbase-transaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-a-coinbase-transaction","title":{"rendered":"What is a Coinbase transaction?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Alternar tabla de contenidos\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-a-coinbase-transaction\/#how_do_coinbase_transactions_work\" >How do coinbase transactions work?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-a-coinbase-transaction\/#what_is_contained_in_a_coinbase_transaction\" >What is contained in a coinbase transaction?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-a-coinbase-transaction\/#how_do_i_know_the_value_of_coinbase_transactions\" >How do I know the value of coinbase transactions?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Tiempo de lectura:<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutos<\/span><\/span><p class=\"p1\">In the world of cryptocurrencies there are several types of<strong>\u00a0transactions<\/strong>, among which the<strong>\u00a0Coinbase transaction<\/strong>\u00a0stands out. This transaction is a\u00a0<strong>fundamental<\/strong>\u00a0component of the system of putting into circulation new coins that have never been spent. Such a\u00a0<strong>special<\/strong>\u00a0transaction takes place on all blockchains.<\/p>\n<p>In this publication we will tell you all about how it works and what it is used for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The first Coinbase transaction took place on the\u00a0<strong>Bitcoin blockchain<\/strong>. This transaction did\u00a0<strong>not represent a payment between two people but represented a special\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-a-genesis-block\/\">genesis block<\/a>\u00a0transaction<\/strong>. This transaction shaped the miners\u2019\u00a0<strong>reward<\/strong>\u00a0transactions. As a result, the\u00a0<strong>miners<\/strong>\u2018 reward transactions are called\u00a0<strong>coinbase transaction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Thanks to these transactions the Bitcoin system started to\u00a0<strong>work<\/strong>\u00a0with c<strong>ryptocurrencies<\/strong>\u00a0making payments and exchanging value. This transaction was the origin of the currencies that we can use in the Bitcoin blockchain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_coinbase_transactions_work\"><\/span><b>How do coinbase transactions work?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Generator transactions or coinbase transactions are of great importance in the creation of new cryptocurrencies. Each coinbase transaction is responsible for<strong>\u00a0transmitting new coins to the miner<\/strong>\u00a0that resolves each block. This means that the total value of each coinbase transaction is made up solely of new coins that have\u00a0<strong>never<\/strong>\u00a0circulated on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-blockchain-and-how-does-it-work\/\">blockchain.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<strong>Procedure:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The operation of this type of transaction begins when a\u00a0<strong>block is generated<\/strong>\u00a0on the blockchain. Each new block contains a list of\u00a0<strong>verified<\/strong>\u00a0transactions in it. These transactions are<strong>\u00a0generated<\/strong>\u00a0by users of the coins on the blockchain. The first of all these transactions is the coinbase transaction. The value of that transaction will be equivalent to the\u00a0<strong>mining reward for the block in question<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">This means that, as the value of the coinbase transaction is linked to the value of the block reward, it is affected by factors such as the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/halving-crypto-what-it-is\/\">halving<\/a>\u00a0active at the time of the transaction in that cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As we already know, halving is responsible for, in the case of Bitcoin, reducing the block reward by\u00a0<strong>50 percent every 210,000 blocks mined.<\/strong>\u00a0Many cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin followed Bitcoin\u2019s operating example by also acquiring halving and a specific reward system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In the case of Bitcoin, the first block rewards started with a value of 50 BTC. After the first<strong>\u00a0halving<\/strong>\u00a0they dropped to 25 BTC, then to 12.5 BTC and so on. With that t<strong>he coinbase transactions were also decreasing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The fact that coinbase transactions are created by\u00a0<strong>miners<\/strong>\u00a0makes them have a curious\u00a0<strong>feature<\/strong>. Since the miner is the one who\u00a0<strong>builds<\/strong>\u00a0the transaction there may be a small chance that it can be manipulated. To prevent this type of\u00a0<strong>manipulation<\/strong>\u00a0the reward contained in the coinbase transaction can only be spent after\u00a0<strong>100 confirmations.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">This measure seeks to\u00a0<strong>ensure<\/strong>\u00a0that the block meets all the necessary conditions to become a valid\u00a0<strong>block<\/strong>. This measure can also be applied in the event that the blockchain undergoes a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-a-hard-fork\/\">fork<\/a>\u00a0protecting the coins in the blockchain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"image_1083417209\" class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\">\n<div class=\"img-inner dark\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Qu%C3%A9-es-una-transacci%C3%B3n-Coinbase.jpeg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Qu\u00e9-es-una-transacci\u00f3n-Coinbase.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Qu\u00e9-es-una-transacci\u00f3n-Coinbase-300x205.jpeg 300w\" alt=\"Qu\u00e9-es-una-transacci\u00f3n--Coinbase\" width=\"768\" height=\"526\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Qu\u00e9-es-una-transacci\u00f3n-Coinbase.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Qu\u00e9-es-una-transacci\u00f3n-Coinbase-300x205.jpeg 300w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Qu\u00e9-es-una-transacci\u00f3n-Coinbase.jpeg\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what_is_contained_in_a_coinbase_transaction\"><\/span><b>What is contained in a coinbase transaction?<br \/>\n<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">The structure of a coinbase transaction is at the heart of its\u00a0<strong>importance<\/strong>. To begin with, the coinbase transaction has one entry. This entry is not\u00a0<strong>associated<\/strong>\u00a0with any other address and is called coinbase. The entry is responsible for\u00a0<strong>generating<\/strong>\u00a0the new cryptocurrencies within the blockchain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Within the transaction there is also an output\u00a0<strong>called coinbase transaction<\/strong>\u00a0that outputs the coins. In this transaction the\u00a0<strong>Bitcoin address<\/strong>\u00a0(in the case of Bitcoin) of the miner who successfully mined the block is recorded. The coinbase transaction\u00a0<strong>collects<\/strong>\u00a0the\u00a0<strong>reward<\/strong>\u00a0with all the fees collected in each transaction included in the block. Thus the miner\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-the-block-reward\/\"><strong>collects the reward<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0he has generated as well as all the\u00a0<strong>commissions<\/strong>\u00a0for the verified transactions in that block.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The contained information is stored in the mined block. Approximately, the transaction occupies the space of<strong>\u00a0100 bytes of data<\/strong>, however, in addition to the used space there is another\u00a0<strong>small space<\/strong>\u00a0left over that miners can manage as<strong>\u00a0they wish<\/strong>. In other words, in the small space left over the miner can infect any text he wants. To understand it better, in the genesis block\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/who-is-satoshi-nakamoto\/\">Satoshi Nakamoto<\/a>\u00a0used the leftover space to write: \u201cThe Times 03 \/ Jan \/ 2009 Chancellor on the verge of the second bailout for banks\u201d referring to the front page of the British newspaper The Times of that day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">With this feature, miners can\u00a0<strong>add<\/strong>\u00a0the information they want in each block, personalizing it. This way they send a message t<strong>hat will never be erased or altered<\/strong>\u00a0by anyone, in addition to being guarded by the\u00a0<strong>security<\/strong>\u00a0of the blockchain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_know_the_value_of_coinbase_transactions\"><\/span><b>How do I know the value of coinbase transactions?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">The coinbase transactions allow to know the value they contain through a procedure. This procedure calculates the result without errors. We will see it below:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\">\n<li class=\"li1\">First we must\u00a0<strong>include the value of the inflows and outflows<\/strong>\u00a0of each of the transactions of the mined block. In this way we will be able to calculate the total commissions that will be paid.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\">For the second step, we must\u00a0<strong>find the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-block-height\/\">height of the block<\/a>\u00a0that is being mined<\/strong>. With this data we will be able to calculate the value of the reward to be applied, taking into account the\u00a0<strong>halving<\/strong>\u00a0active at that moment.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\">As a third step, the miner\u00a0<strong>performs the coinbase transaction<\/strong>\u00a0to obtain the reward. This last transaction already includes the reward for the mined block and the commissions for each transaction that has been validated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p1\">Through these simple steps the miner finally manages to receive the value of the coinbase transaction, however, remember that in order to make use of the reward the miner must wait for at least\u00a0<strong>100 confirmations of the block he has generated<\/strong>. This is known as Coinbase Madurity or Coinbase Transaction Maturity. This feature is included in the Bitcoin operating protocol so there i<strong>s no way around it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Therefore, when miners manage to generate a block, they will only be able to\u00a0<strong>count on the reward<\/strong>\u00a0after 100 confirmations. Coinbase Madurity is intended to protect mainly blockchains that undergo<strong>\u00a0forking<\/strong>, however,\u00a0<strong>it cannot be avoided<\/strong>\u00a0on blockchains that have not undergone forking, as long as it is implemented in their operation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Tiempo de lectura:<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutos<\/span><\/span>In the world of cryptocurrencies there are several types of\u00a0transactions, among which the\u00a0Coinbase transaction\u00a0stands out. This transaction is a\u00a0fundamental\u00a0component of the system of putting into circulation new coins that have never been spent. Such a\u00a0special\u00a0transaction takes place on all blockchains. In this publication we will tell you all about how it works and what it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[185],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blockchain-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10537"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24646,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537\/revisions\/24646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}