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My goal is to add a new feature to Bitcoin, which requires changing the structure of the Bitcoin blockchain. So I was wondering if Bitcoin Core supports having a new/own Blockchain? If so, how to do it? Right now, I manage to run bitcoind but it seems to sync from the existing Bitcoin blockchain.

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    What do you mean by "changing the structure of the bitcoin blockchain"? It isn't really clear what you're asking here.
    – chytrik
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 20:04
  • Sorry for the unclear question as we are not exactly sure what kind of change we are going to make yet. However, we will do it for a research purpose. Roughly speaking, we are interested in exploring security of Bitcoin in a different direction, which may require adding a new field in the block header or modify/add the hash/signature algorithms.
    – Michael
    Commented Jul 22, 2021 at 1:01

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Bitcoin Core supports creating a custom signet and mining utility for setting up a public test network with alternative functionality. This is not meant to be used to create an altcoin with actual or perceived monetary value as I (and many others) would recommend using a sidechain rather than attempting to start a new currency.

Right now, I manage to run bitcoind but it seems to sync from the existing Bitcoin blockchain.

Yes running bitcoind is for mainnet and bitcoind -testnet and bitcoind -signet are for testnet and the default signet (not custom signets).

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  • Thanks for the answer. We will not be creating an altcoin but will mainly do it for PoC/research purposes. For instance, if we would like to modify how transaction verification works in Bitcoin, would you recommend doing it on a custom signet or a sidechain?
    – Michael
    Commented Jul 22, 2021 at 1:12
  • A sidechain would be for locking up actual Bitcoin (with real monetary value) on mainnet. So if you want to experiment with coins with no monetary value I'd use a custom signet. You should really test what you want to do on signet/testnet before moving to mainnet regardless.
    – Michael Folkson
    Commented Jul 22, 2021 at 7:58

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