Configure the Genesis Block

The genesis block is the first block in the blockchain and serves as the foundation of the network. Therefore, our blockchain also needs a genesis block. The Ethereum Mainnet genesis block can't be used because our blockchain is private and has a different consensus algorithm as well as different settings and features.

The genesis block of a private Ethereum network created using Geth can be configured using a JSON file (genesis.json). This file defines several parameters for the initial block, including the Ethereum protocol version, the initial difficulty level, the timestamp, and the account balances of the initial nodes on the network. It also specifies any custom rules or configurations that the network should use, e.g., the gas limit and the consensus algorithm.

The genesis.json file

The genesis.json file is the configuration file used to initialize the genesis block of a Geth private blockchain. The file path must be provided to the Geth node on start-up so that the genesis block can be created, with the following parameters provided :

• config: To configure the features enabled at ...