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1500 questions
30
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1 answer
Signing Bitcoin transactions
There is a part of the Bitcoin protocol that I don't quite understand.
When you make a transaction, and spend the output of a previous transaction for say 1 BTC, you provide a signature using the private key matching the public key (or address) that…
Flavien
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What is P2PK, P2PKH, P2SH, P2WPKH - ELI5
Explain like I'm 5 years old and my other half of the brain is surgically removed :) I don't want to put a lot of stress on my brain
Also what is the difference between BTC held in P2SH and Unspent P2SH Output…
user380208
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2 answers
How can I combine all the tiny amounts I've received to minimise transaction fees, and do I need to?
Important parts in bold, for those who don't want to read the detail!
I've received lots of tiny transactions, in amounts sometimes as low as 0.000003BTC.
Even though I've also received (relatively) larger amounts, I'm worried that when I want to…
Highly Irregular
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2 answers
Why is bitcoin written in C++?
What made the core developers choose C++ as the main programming language for implementing bitcoin? Was this because of their personal preference? Or another reason?
Vincent
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5 answers
What are the limits of m and n in m-of-n multisig addresses?
This method describes how to create a 2-of-3 multisig.
I heard that there is an inherent limit with the number of multisig parts, limiting them to 3.
Does the standard method described above of generating and spending multisig addresses work with…
ripper234
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6 answers
Solo mining just for luck, realistic?
Just turned my attention to mining and the concepts are quite new to me. First of let me be clear: I realize that my hardware setup is far from ideal for mining. This is also the reason why I do not want to pool, I would simply provide a too small a…
Isac
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30
votes
5 answers
How are public & private keys in an address created?
I understand the high level concept I am more interested specific details. How is a private key generated. How exactly is public key generated, how is address generated from public key.
DeathAndTaxes
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2 answers
What does the US government do with seized coins?
It was reported today that the US government shut down the web site Silk Road, where people bought and sold things (allegedly including illegal drugs) using Bitcoins. The operator was arrested, and BTC 26000 was seized. (Source: New York Times).
A…
Nate Eldredge
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1 answer
How does Chaum style e-cash work? (all the Wiki links are broken)
I'm trying to learn how Chaum-style ecash worked specifically how:
"the issuer does a blind signature on a serial number"
I tried looking up on Wikipedia but the page is pretty light on the details, and all the pages don't work (even the Wayback…
makerofthings7
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29
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4 answers
Where do I find the *actual* blockchain size?
Okay, my hard drive is a bit cramped, and the Blockchain for my Bitcoin client is completely sucking up my free space. I want to know how much room I need to be prepared to lose.
This isn't a duplicate of the other questions - those had answers that…
JamesTheAwesomeDude
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4 answers
Is each Bitcoin address unique?
I am wondering whether each bitcoin address is unique. I would assume yes. Then, how is this enforced given the distributed address generation?
As I understand it, each time an address is generated, a new key-pair is also generated. On what basis is…
dexter
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29
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5 answers
Has there ever been a successful double spend attack on the Bitcoin network? If not, is it really necessary to wait for confirmations?
There is a lot of concern about waiting for confirmations to avoid a double spend attack, but has there ever actually been a double spend attack?
It seems to be that there are two types of double spend attack. One is perpetrated without a…
Isaac Kriegman
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7 answers
How can one download the bitcoin client securely?
What is the correct procedure to download the official bitcoin client, and validate it was signed by the developers, and not infected with any malware by a man in the middle?
ripper234
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29
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12 answers
Is there a blockchain.info for testnet?
I'm trying to test to see if transactions went through or not and blockchain.info is super helpful for this on the real network.
Shamoon
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3 answers
How are paths found in Lightning Network?
I understand now how multihop payments can work in LN, but how do we discover payment paths in Lightning Network in the first place? Obviously you'd need to take into account the available capacity of the route, and you'd want to discover the…
Murch
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