bcoin VS bips

You can just submit your changes to the Bitcoin core repo https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin or you can fork it and create your own version. You can even just use/change one of the alternative implementations: https://github.com/bcoin-org/bcoin

I'm not sure what you mean by "truly separate", but our hot wallets are indeed separate wallets, both running on top on bcoin.io

bcoin

My first bitcoin reimplementation was written in node.js and called bcoin[1]. So this is my second time reimplementing the bitcoin protocol, albeit in a very different language.

Bcoin was frequently used as a reference along with bitcoin core v0.8.0-v0.11.0 when I felt like double checking consensus functions (among other things).

As an aside, I personally think bitcoin core v0.8.0 is the best version of core if you want to learn bitcoin from it. It's a lot more straightforward than later versions. I personally don't enjoy reading any version beyond v0.11.0.

This is also the reason mako doesn't support taproot yet. That code is very new and isn't present in upstream bcoin. I could try to implement it from the BIPs alone, but I won't know what intricacies are present in the actual bitcoin core code until I actually read it.

[1] https://github.com/bcoin-org/bcoin

Hey guys, Is there a way to run a bitcoin-core program (like https://github.com/bcoin-org/bcoin) without downloading the blockchain?

Modern bitcoin addresses use a base-32 character set that leaves out some of the most ambiguous pairs and also permutes the address ordering so that the most visually similar remaining characters produce single bit errors which are better handled by the addresses error detecting (and potentially correcting) code.

https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0173.mediawi...

Context: Bitcoin miners have just adopted a 50% pay cut for themselves. This pay cut was baked into Bitcoin protocol at the launch of the network (mostly, see "BIP 42" [1]). The OP link gives information about the block in which this pay cut was made.

I get that HN comments tend to dismiss Bitcoin. But the fact that for the fourth time this pay cut has happened without a hitch speaks volumes to what makes Bitcoin interesting: It's a rare combination of economic incentives and technology that keeps chugging. Nobody can stop it. And it's extremely resistant to change. It requires no governmental approval. All attempts at subversion or interference have failed. There aren't many things that come close to that kind of record.

[1] https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0042.mediawi...

Bitcoin transactions involve locking funds in scripts, which can only be spent if those locking conditions are met. The part of the script that expresses these locking conditions are called ScriptPubKeys. On the other hand, the part that provides unlocking scripts to satisfy the locking conditions is referred to as ScriptSig for legacy transactions, and ScriptWitness for SegWit Transactions. These scripts are evaluated by a stack-based language called Script. This article will mainly focus on ScriptPubKeys.

Here’s the reference https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039.mediawiki

There are 5 271 537 971 301 488 476 000 309 317 528 177 868 800 possible permutations of the bip39 wordlist found here: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039/english.txt when using 12 word seeds. You probably have better change to win the lottery every week for the rest of your life than cracking a 12 word seed in correct order

No one controls Bitcoin, because it's a protocol. Bitcoin Core is the reference implementation, but there are others, and anyone can create new implementations if they wish. Also, the Bitcoin Core maintainers can't just change something on a whim, because users would then switch to another fork. Maintainers (or miners or other groups) can't force their changes on users, because everyone can decide on their own which version they want to use.

The protocol development happens through BIPs (Bitcoin improvement proposals): https://github.com/bitcoin/bips

BIPs are discussed for years, before (and if) they are implemented, and basically everyone needs to agree on them, because no one wants to fork the blockchain, which could be devastating.

All the seeds generated from the CoolWallet (Number / Word) adhere to the BIP-39 protocol.