The Bitcoin Sun, No. 1-4 (2011)
Filed under e-zine | Tags: · bitcoin, business, computing, cryptography, decentralization, economy, electronic money, entrepreneurship, free software, internet, money, p2p, software, technology
The Bitcoin Sun: The Rise of Namecoin
Edition 4, 6 June 2011
Includes story about Namecoin project, and interview with Rick Falkvinge, the founder of the Swedish Pirate Party.
PDF (cost: 0.02 BTC)
The Bitcoin Sun: Bitcoin and the Faceless Entrepreneur
Edition 3, 29 May 2011
The Bitcoin Sun: The Low Over-Head Revolution
Edition 2, 23 May 2011
Includes feature article by Kevin Carson.
The Bitcoin Sun: From Alice to Bob
Edition 1, 15 May 2011
Satoshi Nakamoto: Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (2009)
Filed under paper | Tags: · bitcoin, computing, cryptography, economy, electronic money, free software, money, p2p, software, technology
A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they’ll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.
Published on 24 May 2009
9 pages
Simon Singh: The Code Book: How to Make It, Break It, Hack It, Crack It (2002)
Filed under book | Tags: · cryptography
It’s known as the science of secrecy. Cryptography: the encoding and decoding of private information. And it is history’s most fascinating story of intrigue and cunning. From Julius Caesar and his Caesar Cipher to the code used by Mary Queen of Scots and her conspiracy to the use of the Engima machine during the Second World War, Simon Singh follows the evolution of secret writing.
Accessible, compelling, and timely, this international bestseller, now adapted for young people, is sure to make readers see the past—and the future—in a whole new way.
Publisher Delacorte Press, 2002
ISBN 0385900325, 9780385900324
Length 263 pages