Cost of mining. Let’s now look at mining economics. We mentioned it’s quite expensive to operate as a miner. At…

Let’s look at a nice trick that goes along with digital signatures. The idea is to take a public key,…

This is the second cryptographic primitive, along with hash functions, that we need as building blocks for the cryptocurrency discussion…

A hash pointer is a data structure that turns out to be useful in many of the systems that we…

The first cryptographic primitive that we’ll need to understand is a cryptographic hash function. A hash function is a mathematical…

All currencies need some way to control supply and enforce various security properties to prevent cheating. In fiat currencies, organizations…

You may know that Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym adopted by the creator of Bitcoin. While his identity remains a…

Another key component of Bitcoin is the block chain: a ledger in which all Bitcoin transactions are securely recorded. The…

In the DigiCash system, if you have a digital cash object that’s worth $100, what makes it actually worth $100?…