From f38ce622b67e2c748642432389efdedffcbce01f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: wakgill <76528604+wakgill@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Sat, 2 Jan 2021 00:59:02 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] Create 1.md --- docs/emails/p2p-research/1.md | 74 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 74 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/emails/p2p-research/1.md diff --git a/docs/emails/p2p-research/1.md b/docs/emails/p2p-research/1.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0f8dae7 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/emails/p2p-research/1.md @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +--- +layout: default +title: 'Bitcoin open source implementation of P2P currency' +date: 2009-02-11 23:30:54 CET +grand_parent: Emails +parent: '[p2p-research' +nav_order: 1 +--- + +# Re: Bitcoin open source implementation of P2P currency + +The email on the Cryptography Mailing List that announced Bitcoin publicly to the world. +{: .fs-6 .fw-300 } + +--- + +``` +I've developed a new open source P2P e-cash system called Bitcoin. It's +completely decentralized, with no central server or trusted parties, +because everything is based on crypto proof instead of trust. Give it a +try, or take a look at the screenshots and design paper: + +Download Bitcoin v0.1 at http://www.bitcoin.org + +The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that's +required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to +debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of +breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and +transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit +bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve. We have to trust them with +our privacy, trust them not to let identity thieves drain our accounts. + Their massive overhead costs make micropayments impossible. + +A generation ago, multi-user time-sharing computer systems had a similar +problem. Before strong encryption, users had to rely on password +protection to secure their files, placing trust in the system +administrator to keep their information private. Privacy could always +be overridden by the admin based on his judgment call weighing the +principle of privacy against other concerns, or at the behest of his +superiors. Then strong encryption became available to the masses, and +trust was no longer required. Data could be secured in a way that was +physically impossible for others to access, no matter for what reason, +no matter how good the excuse, no matter what. + +It's time we had the same thing for money. With e-currency based on +cryptographic proof, without the need to trust a third party middleman, +money can be secure and transactions effortless. + +One of the fundamental building blocks for such a system is digital +signatures. A digital coin contains the public key of its owner. To +transfer it, the owner signs the coin together with the public key of +the next owner. Anyone can check the signatures to verify the chain of +ownership. It works well to secure ownership, but leaves one big +problem unsolved: double-spending. Any owner could try to re-spend an +already spent coin by signing it again to another owner. The usual +solution is for a trusted company with a central database to check for +double-spending, but that just gets back to the trust model. In its +central position, the company can override the users, and the fees +needed to support the company make micropayments impractical. + +Bitcoin's solution is to use a peer-to-peer network to check for +double-spending. In a nutshell, the network works like a distributed +timestamp server, stamping the first transaction to spend a coin. It +takes advantage of the nature of information being easy to spread but +hard to stifle. For details on how it works, see the design paper at +http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf + +The result is a distributed system with no single point of failure. +Users hold the crypto keys to their own money and transact directly with +each other, with the help of the P2P network to check for double-spending. + +Satoshi Nakamoto +http://www.bitcoin.org +```