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bitcoin [2022/03/28 09:38]
mathew
bitcoin [2023/06/29 14:08] (current)
mathew
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 ====== Bitcoin ====== ====== Bitcoin ======
-**Bitcoin** is an [[open source]] [[peer-to-peer]] [[money]] and payment network.+**Bitcoin** is an [[open source]] [[peer-to-peer]] [[money]] and payment network, sometimes referred to as a [[cryptocurrency]].
  
-See also [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin_Education_Guide]]+See also  
 +  * [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin_Education_Guide]] (Will eventually be ported into regular Wiki articles) 
 +  * [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin History Timeline]] 
 +  * [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin Media]] 
 +    * [[Rounding the Earth:The Bitcoin Wars]] 
 +    * [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin Educators]] 
 +  * [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin Entrepreneurs]] 
 + 
 +===== Bitcoin Network Structure and Operation ===== 
 + 
 +==== Public-Key Cryptography ==== 
 +  * [[https://roundingtheearth.substack.com/p/bitcoin-beginners-public-and-private?s=w|Bitcoin Beginners: Public and Private Keys]] 
 + 
 +=== Bitcoin Addresses === 
 +As of 2022, Bitcoin uses the RIPEMD160 has function, so there are 2^160 possible Bitcoin addresses, which is a 49-digit integer when written in decimal form.((April 26, 2021 | PrivacyPros.io | [[https://privacypros.io/btc-faq/how-many-btc-addresses|How Many Bitcoin Addresses Are There))((March 31, 2022 | [[Mathew Crawford]] | [[Rounding the Earth]] | [[https://roundingtheearth.substack.com/p/bitcoin-beginners-public-and-private?s=w|Bitcoin Beginners: Public and Private Keys]])) 
 + 
 +==== Proof of Work (PoW) Mining ==== 
 +Bitcoin mining is a lottery process that costs energy to operate computers to perform calculations.((April 28, 2022 | [[Mathew Crawford]] | [[Rounding the Earth]] | [[https://roundingtheearth.substack.com/p/bitcoin-beginners-mining-is-a-lottery?s=w|Bitcoin Beginners: Mining is a Lottery]])) 
 + 
 +See also [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin Mining]] 
 + 
 +===== Bitcoin Monetary Theory ===== 
 +Bitcoin's capped supply solves a variety of social problems associated with the [[Cantillon Effect]].((July 19, 2022 | [[Mathew Crawford]] | [[Rounding the Earth]] | [[https://roundingtheearth.substack.com/p/the-cantillon-effect-is-currency|The Cantillon Effect is Currency Slavery]])) 
 + 
 +==== Gresham's Law (and Thier's Law) ==== 
 +[[Gresham’s Law]] ([[Aristophanes]]): Bad money drives out good (when two currencies are required by law to be accepted in parity). 
 + 
 +Gresham's law is often stated as, “bad money drives out good”. This aphorism does not fully explain itself, however, so we demonstrate with an example: 
 + 
 +When a currency exists in a market place, coined in a metal, and a sovereign ruler decides to save money on new coinage by producing a coin decreed by the authority to be equivalent, but made with an inferior metal (a less useful, thus cheaper to purchase metal), then people in the marketplace spend the “bad (inferior) money” first, while hoarding/saving the “good (superior) money” any time they have the option. 
 +Thus, Lord Gresham explained to Queen Elizabeth how coins seemed to have vanished from the marketplace. In the end, we should expect the saved (low velocity) coins to accrue in value over time relative to the spent (high velocity) coins regardless of the decree of values. Such pegs eventually break, as did the bimetallism policy of the U.S. 
 + 
 +The notion of Gresham's law can be used to argue in support of the ideas of [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin Maximalism ]]” in the short run and “[[Bitcoin:hyperbitcoinization]]” due to Bitcoin's non-inflationary protocol. [[Thier's law]] comes into play when the bad money's velocity reaches such a high rate that it undergoes [[hyperinflation]] relative to the good money to the point that nobody will even take it as a medium of exchange because they cannot get rid of it fast enough for any profit from the exchange not to tend negative. Thus the bad money simply dies off as a currency.
  
 ===== Satoshi Nakamoto ===== ===== Satoshi Nakamoto =====
 +The mysterious and unknown inventor of Bitcoin went by the [[pseudonym]] 'Satoshi Nakamoto'. There has been much debate over the years, and investigation into who Satoshi Nakamoto might be or have been.
  
 ==== Theories of Identity ==== ==== Theories of Identity ====
 +
 +=== Hal Finney ===
 +The first ever Bitcoin transaction took place between Satoshi Nakamoto and [[cypherpunk]] [[Hal Finney]], the latter of whom was actively engaged with Satoshi.
 +
 +=== Edward Ho ===
 +Gerald Votta makes a reasoned case for [[Edward Ho]] to be Satoshi.((November 16, 2001 | Gerald Votta | [[https://medium.com/quantum-economics/i-know-who-satoshi-nakamoto-is-a3059ef02c34|I Know Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is]]))
 +
 +=== Elon Musk ===
 +He is very bright and has the resources, though most Bitcoin experts do not think that [[Elon Musk]] is Satoshi.
  
 === Paul Le Roux === === Paul Le Roux ===
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 ===== Bitcoin Statistics ===== ===== Bitcoin Statistics =====
 +The [[https://bitbo.io/?standalone=true|Bitbo]] stats page is highly educational, showing features such as last block time, mining difficulty adjustments, block height, chain size, transaction fees, and more.
 ==== Price Tools ==== ==== Price Tools ====
   * The [[https://www.blockchaincenter.net/bitcoin-rainbow-chart/|Bitcoin Rainbow Chart]] at Blockchaincenter.net puts current price and price history into perspective using metrics that have become standard in the Bitcoin community.   * The [[https://www.blockchaincenter.net/bitcoin-rainbow-chart/|Bitcoin Rainbow Chart]] at Blockchaincenter.net puts current price and price history into perspective using metrics that have become standard in the Bitcoin community.
  
 ===== Growing Adoption ===== ===== Growing Adoption =====
 +As of March 31, 2022, ButBitcoinWorldwide.com reports that there are 106 million Bitcoin owners, 200 million Bitcoin wallets, 53 million Bitcoin traders, and 400,000 daily Bitcoin users.((Buy Bitcoin Worldwide | [[https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/how-many-bitcoin-users/|How Many Bitcoin Users]]))
  
 ==== National Adoption ==== ==== National Adoption ====
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   * [[https://tallyco.in/|Tallycoin]] is a fundraising site that takes donations in Bitcoin and distributes them to causes.   * [[https://tallyco.in/|Tallycoin]] is a fundraising site that takes donations in Bitcoin and distributes them to causes.
 +
 +===== Transacting in Bitcoin =====
 +
 +==== Transaction (tx) Fees ====
 +  * [[https://privacypros.io/tools/bitcoin-fee-estimator/|Bitcoin Transaction Fee Estimator & Calculator]] (PrivacyPros.io)
 +
 +==== Wallets ====
 +
 +=== Wallet Maintenance ===
 +https://www.kristovatlas.com/auditing-crypto-wallets/
 +
 +=== Hardware Wallets ===
 +Hardware wallets operate with many addresses for greater security. These can make use of [[https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Deterministic_wallet|deterministic wallet]] systems.
 +  * [[https://coldcard.com/|Coldcard]]
 +
 +==== The Lightning Network ====
 +The Lightning Network is a way to quickly make Bitcoin transactions without waiting for block settlement.
 +
 +=== Lightning Games ===
 +  * [[https://lightning-roulette.com/|Lightning Roulette]] is a [[provably fair]] game.
 +
 +==== Practical Bitcoin Spending ====
 +While Bitcoin can be used as electronic cash between phones, some people purchase gift cards with it in order to simplify the gateway between the Bitcoin and fiat shopping economies. Here is a brief list of population Bitcoin spending outlets (August, 2022):
 +  * [[https://www.bitrefill.com/?ref=Qsh5Dn9R|BitRefill]] brags that you can "live on crypto", advertising over 5,000 products including (fiat currency denominated) gift cards.
 +  * [[https://coincards.com/us/?ref=bitshills|Coincards]] Gift cards
 +  * [[https://giftoff.com/|GiftOff]] Digital Gift Cards
 +
 +
 +===== Bitcoin Culture =====
 +The growing culture that appreciates Bitcoin has begun to coalesce into a market demographic. There are numerous Bitcoin conferences, large and small. There are also Bitcoin shopping site.
 +  * [[https://thetexasbitcoinproject.com/collections/merch|Merchandise at the Texas Bitcoin Project]]
 +
 +
 +===== Bitcoin Resources =====
 +See also [[Bitcoin:Bitcoin Media]]
 +
 +  * [[https://btctranscripts.com/|Bitcoin Transcripts]]
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