How many bitcoins did Bitcoin’s genesis block award as its block subsidy?

Bitcoin’s genesis block awarded a block subsidy of 50 bitcoins. Satoshi Nakamoto mined the genesis block, also called block 0, on January 3, 2009, when the Bitcoin network began.

The genesis block’s subsidy was encoded in its coinbase transaction, but those 50 bitcoins are generally considered unspendable because of the way the first block is handled by Bitcoin’s software. This differs from ordinary mined rewards, which can become spendable after the required confirmation period.

Bitcoin’s protocol halves the block subsidy every 210,000 blocks. The reward therefore fell from 50 bitcoins to 25, then 12.5, 6.25, and later 3.125 bitcoins.

The subsidy is separate from transaction fees. Miners can receive both, although the programmed subsidy decreases over time and is eventually intended to reach zero.