December 28, 2017
Abstract
#
In this piece, we list 19 Bitcoin consensus rule changes (or 18 as an accidental one “failed”), which represents what we believe to be almost every significant such event in Bitcoin’s history. At least three of these incidents resulted in an identifiable chainsplit, lasting approximately 51, 24, and six blocks, in 2010, 2013 and 2015, respectively.
This report was originaly published in BitMEX Research blog. Later it has been updated. The updated list now includes the 2018 security incident and the 2021 Taproot activation.
...
July 28, 2015
This article by Arvind Narayanan was first published on Freedom to Tinker computer science blog.
Contribute.
On March 11, 2013, Bitcoin experienced a technical crisis. Versions 0.7 and 0.8 of the software diverged from each other in behavior due to a bug, causing the block chain to “fork” into two. Considering how catastrophic a hard fork can be, the crisis was resolved quickly with remarkably little damage owing to the exemplary competence of the developers in charge. The event gives us a never-before-never-again look into Bitcoin’s inner workings. In this post, I’ll do a play-by-play analysis of the dramatic minutes, and draw many surprising lessons. For a summary of the event, see here.
...September 16, 2022
Technical analysis of mining behavior exhibited by an entity that is plausibly Satoshi Nakamoto.
This article by Jameson Lopp was published in his blog.
Contribute.
If you spend enough time in the crypto ecosystem then you’ll no doubt come across arguments that some projects have unfair token distributions because they were “premined” / “instamined” / “fast mined” by the project founders, effectively enriching themselves from the initial launch of the project.
...May 1, 2020
This series by Brandon Quittem was published in his blog.
Contribute.
Foreward
#
I need to give credit to Dan Held for publishing his 4-part series comparing bitcoin’s origin to planting a tree. While I loved his series, I believe a more robust analogy is comparing bitcoin to fungi. If you’re new to this topic, strap in — it is my honor to initiate you into the fascinating world of fungi.
...August 7, 2019
This article by Gigi was published on dergigi.com website.
Contribute.
The definition of life has been a challenge for scientists and philosophers alike. While many definitions have been put forward, what precisely differentiates the living from the non-living remains elusive. Are viruses alive? DNA molecules? Computer viruses? Biologically produced minerals?
Ralph Merkle, inventor of cryptographic hashing and namesake of the Merkle tree, made the argument that Bitcoin is the first example of a new form of life. In this article series, I intend to take this claim seriously, explore it further, and see what can be gleaned from viewing Bitcoin as a living organism.
...November 3, 2024
An impassioned argument for why we should continue striving to improve the Bitcoin protocol.
This article by Jameson Lopp was published in his blog
Contribute
Note: if you’d prefer to consume this essay in audio format, you can listen to it here (narrated by Guy Swann of the Bitcoin Audible Podcast.)
Ossification in the context of network protocols refers to the slowdown in their evolution and rate of change. It appears to be a law of network physics. Essentially, as a network protocol achieves greater adoption, the “mass” of the network grows and the effort required to alter the direction of the network by coordinating software updates across the users of the protocol increases substantially. Eventually, the ability to safely activate any protocol changes is crushed under the massive weight of the network as it becomes impossible to coordinate massive numbers of decentralized actors.
...