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1500 questions
9
votes
3 answers
How is the target section of a block header calculated?
I've been poking around https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Target and I've found the current target, but I can't seem to find how it's generated. It's supposedly generated when the difficulty is adjusted, as stated here:…
Dylan Katz
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9
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2 answers
What if a transaction is made to a wallet that doesn't exist?
Wallets can be created offline, and transactions can be made to that completely offline wallet through by obtaining that wallet address. Now, when the guy owning the offline wallet goes online, his wallet will sync with the network and he will get…
Vikram
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9
votes
2 answers
How much trust is placed on Satoshi Nakamoto?
Is the safety of bitcoin dependent on the creator of it being a trustworthy person? Or would it be safe to use even if it turned out the creator's day job was working at the NSA?
Andrew Grimm
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9
votes
2 answers
What is the longest time gap between blocks in 2010 - 2011?
I notice on blockexplorer that block 159531 was mined at 2011-12-28 10:53:53 and the next block was mined at 2011-12-28 11:24:58 - a gap of more than half an hour. I know the 10-minutes-per-block rule is just an average that the network tries to…
jl6
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9
votes
2 answers
Does Bitcoin rely on the internet?
Is it possible to run Bitcoin mining and transaction distribution without using the internet?
For example, how would Bitcoin continue in the event of a total clampdown by a telco?
Gary
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9
votes
1 answer
Does the main Bitcoin client blacklist addresses?
Does the main Bitcoin client blacklist any addresses that send too many erroneous messages? If so, how can one whitelist a particular address? I am developing an app that will be communicating with the main client and I don't want the program to ban…
ThePiachu
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9
votes
1 answer
Does the BerkeleyDB-based wallet.dat implementation leak private key data?
I read this little nugget on the bitcoin client bug tracker:
the bdb binary log files can also contain sensitive data such as private keys
Is that true? Does this mean that even with an encrypted wallet.dat, there might be a way that the private…
Thilo
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9
votes
5 answers
Plain text for the Bitcoin symbol
It seems that the most widely used symbol for Bitcoin is a B with two vertical lines through it1. It makes sense, as a single letter with a line or two through it is common for many currencies. Is there a plain text printing for this symbol, or…
frеdsbend
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9
votes
3 answers
What's the rationale of using ECDSA instead of RSA?
One major drawback of (EC)DSA is that it requires a good RNG, otherwise the private key may be accidentally exposed. This is also one of the major reasons (I found so far) why no(?) smartcard supports any kind of DSA. In contrast to that, RSA, while…
Tobias Kienzler
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9
votes
1 answer
Bitcoin "accounts" feature - Is it practical or scalable?
On the bitcoin wiki's "Accounts explained" page:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Accounts_explained#Account_Weaknesses
It clearly states:
The accounts code does not scale up to thousands of accounts with tens of thousands of transactions, because…
Sean Edwards
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9
votes
2 answers
Transferring Bitcoins from Wallet to Wallet
Say I buy a Bitcoin from a specific market, like BTC-e, and it goes into my wallet. Is it possible for me to transfer that Bitcoin from its current wallet (BTC-e) into a wallet that I have on another market, like LocalBitcoins? If so, how can I do…
John Martin
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9
votes
2 answers
Correct use of the word Bitcoin
I'm still unsure when to use Bitcoin and when bitcoin is more appropriate. Did anyone define when to use the word Bitcoin with a capital B? Is one used to talk about the currency as in "3 Bitcoin" and the other for the "bitcoin protocol"?
Cimm
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9
votes
1 answer
Is it possible to view unconfirmed transactions with the bitcoin client?
This site shows you unconfirmed bitcoin transactions:
https://blockchain.info/unconfirmed-transactions
As I understand it, these unconfirmed transactions are received and rebroadcast by every bitcoin client. Given that they are on my computer, how…
schulwitz
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9
votes
2 answers
Satoshi's bitcoind implementation bugs
I have seen referred in a couple of locations (bitcd and bitcoinj) that fully verifying clients should match the satoshi bitcoind client implementation, including its bugs, presumably to prevent splitting the blockchain.
I guess the bugs that need…
ktorn
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9
votes
2 answers
How long does it take to receive bitcoins?
I bought 1.25 BTC but after 2 days I see nothing. What is wrong?
This is the transaction.
Also, I went to freebitcoins.appspot.com, since they claim thay they give for free 0.005 bitcoins per visitor. I did everything correct and the site said that…
nowfor2
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