Coinbase Transaction

The coinbase transaction is a special transaction that kicks off every new block in the Bitcoin blockchain. It's how new bitcoins enter circulation: the block’s fresh supply (currently 3.125 BTC per block) is sent to the miner, along with the total transaction fees from everyone else’s transactions in the block.

Unlike regular transactions, the coinbase transaction doesn’t need any inputs because it’s creating new coins. Instead, you’ll see only outputs—one or more, usually paying the miner. For example, in Block #650,000, the miner received 6.25 BTC (the block reward at the time) plus 0.244131 BTC in transaction fees, all through the coinbase transaction. You can inspect this kind of transaction on the blockchain; it stands out because it has no inputs and aggregates the block’s reward and fees into its outputs.