archive_v1_genesisHash - Bittensor RPC Method

Returns the hash of the genesis block (block 0) as reported by the archive node. The genesis hash uniquely identifies a Substrate-based chain and is commonly used to verify that a client is connected to the correct network. On Bittensor mainnet the genesis hash is a fixed value that never changes.

Parameters

None.

Response

Code Examples

Use Cases

• Network verification -- Confirm you are connected to Bittensor mainnet (and not a testnet or fork) by comparing the genesis hash against a known value.
• Transaction signing -- The genesis hash is required when constructing the signed payload for Substrate extrinsics; using the wrong value causes signature verification to fail.
• Multi-chain applications -- Identify which chain a connection belongs to in applications that connect to multiple Substrate networks.

Bittensor Context

The Bittensor mainnet genesis hash uniquely identifies the network. It is embedded in every signed extrinsic's "signed extensions" payload, binding transactions to the correct chain. If you sign a transaction with the wrong genesis hash, it will be rejected with a BadProof error. The genesis hash also distinguishes Bittensor mainnet from testnets and local dev chains.

Notes

• This method is part of the new JSON-RPC v2 specification. It mirrors chainSpec_v1_genesisHash and the legacy chain_getBlockHash(0).
• The genesis hash is immutable for a given chain and can be safely cached.
• On public shared RPC endpoints the archive namespace may be disabled.

Related Methods

• chainSpec_v1_genesisHash -- Get genesis hash via the chainSpec namespace
• archive_v1_hashByHeight -- Get the hash for any block height (use height 0 for genesis)
• archive_v1_header -- Get the genesis block header
• chain_getBlockHash -- Legacy method to get a block hash by number