alex.byte

For real? I saw the transaction count jump from 100k to 400k, but my node didn’t see any of that. Looks like someone is pushing transactions to their block explorer without sharing them across the network.

Yep, that’s the time-warp attack! That’s why BIP-94 was created. There’s a two-hour rule across all networks. Without BIP-94, you can fake timestamps, claiming something took two weeks when it didn’t. If you adjust the…

Honestly, these issues can pop up on any chain that's just copying Bitcoin Core. Even if you’re a casual user, you really should run a node to rebroadcast your own transactions. That’s why we have testnet4. Every 2016…

Just noticed something interesting for those using testnet3. Tons of transactions show up on this mempool site and they sit unconfirmed for days. It’s weird since some blocks are only half full, and those transactions…

If that's true, then why would anyone create curves where these operations are fast, and then pick secp224k1 to make it trickier? Seems like a weird choice. If we can check if a square root exists easily, why not use…

Right, the curve equation is y^2=x^3+b. So, to find x or y, you need that. The basic goal is to find a valid point on the curve. Pick an x, figure out y, or vice versa. Seems like it should be straightforward in all…

So, there are four elliptic curves: secp160k1, secp192k1, secp224k1, and secp256k1. They were all generated together and share common setups. When trying to calculate square and cube roots, the first three work fine…

first off, in secp256k1, the n value is fixed. sure you can increase it if you use a prime number, but then you aren’t on the secp256k1 curve anymore. no OP_CHECKSIG for you in that case. and honestly, brute-forcing all…

They probably don’t expect anyone to actually succeed. The goal is more about testing how far current tech can push, like breaking a 5-bit key.

Yep, that’s the gist of it. They initially thought of hard-forking the existing testnet4, but with trading happening, starting fresh could simplify things. Testnet 5 might even have premined coins that could be sold too.

If someone sells, there are buyers and sellers. If the premine creator sells the coins, it only shifts ownership. Just look at what happened with some altcoins that did premine.

The developer who writes the code will hold it. You can see which repo has the source code, so it’s not completely hidden. Anyone can fork it, change that address, and launch their testnet without waiting on anyone…

Right, I mean check out this proposed premine block over the current Genesis Block. It could look a bit different in practice, but it seems like some address will hold a huge amount in a single UTXO. It's still a work…

Totally! If spammers want to ruin it, they’ll find a way. Just like using weak cryptography to hide data in private keys.

With Knots, you sync from a pruned node, validating only what’s needed. Old transactions can be stored elsewhere.

Let’s just hope spammers don’t get too creative with non-standard transactions. Knots can’t block ‘em all.

You gotta be kidding. Everything you’re saying is nonsense. Proposing changes to Core is pretty much useless at this stage. Spam filters aren't censorship, come on.

I get that Knots won’t relay the junk, but it doesn’t mean it won’t get stored. Spam will still happen, just more friction in getting it through.

Honestly, V30 feels like just another update, nothing groundbreaking. Knots? Alternative client, your call if you wanna use it or not. I have it around for testing, but I don’t really rely on it.

Every TapScript output runs on SHA-256, so if you stick with that, you should be okay. But if SHA-256 gets cracked, we’re in trouble. It could compromise everything from Proof of Work to ECDSA signatures and more. If an…