README.md

summer-of-bitcoin

I am in the initial stages of learning bitcoin and hence I would be updating the list of resources I will go through to understand this fascinating system in a better way:

1. Bitcoin whitepaper
2. The incomplete history of Bitcoin Development

Important concepts:

1. Strongest chain is NOT the same as the longest chain :
   If every block were built using the same amount of Proof Of Work, the longest chain would, in fact, be the strongest chain. However, in Bitcoin, amount of POW can vary between the blocks, hence the longest chain is not same as the strongest chain. (Operational since July 2010)

Possible attacks

1. Finney Attack : Early Bitcoin user Hal Finney discovered this attack and described it: "Suppose the attacker is generating blocks occasionally. in each block he generates, he includes a transfer from address A to address B, both of which he controls.
   "To cheat you, when he generates a block, he doesn't broadcast it. Instead, he runs down to your store and makes a payment to your address C with his address A. You wait a few seconds, don't hear anything, and transfer the goods. He broadcasts his block now, and his transaction will take precedence over yours."

Important events in Bitcoin:

1. Genesis block was mined with a timestamp of Jan 9th in 2009.
2. Merging P2SH proposal : allows the receiver of a transaction to specify the script needed to spend it.
3. Unexpected hardfork in 2013.