Inquisitive minds have unearthed a biblical message in the Bitcoin transaction, marking another interesting factoid about the leading cryptocurrency.

First spotted by Bitcoinhackers.org, the message – located in the 666,666th block of the Bitcoin blockchain – contains a Bible quote.

As the discovery shows, the block's transaction contains a reference to the Epistle to the Romans – the sixth book of the New Testament.

Quoting the 21st verse of the 12th chapter, the block writes, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The block's transaction saw 432,100 satoshis (about $160) sent to two different Bitcoin addresses. The first alphabets of the addresses themselves contain the words “God” and “Bible,” respectively.

Data from Bitinfocharts shows that the person who sent the transaction paid over $50 in fees – much more than Bitcoin's peak average transaction fee on the day.

The higher fees seem to mean that the sender specifically wanted their transaction to be in the 666,666th block. It is somewhat ironic, considering that theologists see 666 as the mark of the devil. Perhaps it was merely a coincidence or someone trying to play a joke.

Of course, this isn't the first time that Bitcoin users will implant hidden messages in transactions. Most notable with the Bitcoin network's genesis block – the first block of transactions to ever be mined. The message contained in the genesis block reads:

“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

Several people have used the message in different interpretations, the most recent one being a hypothesis that Satoshi Nakamoto – Bitcoin's creator – was a Londoner. Last November, author Doncho Karaivanov published a report in The Chain Bulletin, explaining his reasons for arguing that Nakamoto was British.

His analysis pointed to several proofs – including timestamps of Nakamoto's published materials, the pseudonymous developer's use of regional colloquialisms, and word spellings. He also took notice of the headline in the genesis block, which he claims is specific to England's print version of The Times.

As he explained, the print edition of The Times in England had used the headline, “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” On the flip side, the online version added the Chancellor's name specifically in the headline. The United States' edition didn't mention the Chancellor story.

Karaivanov also analyzed readership data, showing that 43% of The Times' readers were in London. He added that with London being the largest financial hub globally, it only makes sense that Satoshi had lived in the city between 2008 and 2010.

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