All Questions
29,898
questions
11
votes
3
answers
708
views
Is there a list of countries that are not likely to persecute bitcoin businesses?
It seems that at some point countries will start cracking down on Bitcoins. And Bitcoin is designed to handle that. However, are there some countries that are openly friendly to bitcoin businesses ...
- 2,237
15
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why do so many bitcoin exchanges have their bank accounts closed and have problems establishing bank accounts?
I find it really strange that it happens that so many Bitcoin exchanges have their bank accounts closed.
Outside of the Bitcoin world, I find it very unusual to have a bank account closed, for a ...
- 702
9
votes
1
answer
247
views
One dataset for many wallets... how?
It takes a while to download and process the transaction log.
Doing that for dozens of wallets would be a big waste.
I want to run just one client full time as a log processor.
Then for each wallet, ...
- 91
11
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Mining pool performance optimization
What are the main components one should focus on when trying to maximize a mining pool's performance? Assuming the code is pretty optimal (there aren't any inefficiencies), what should a pool owner ...
- 42.9k
10
votes
4
answers
470
views
How safe it is that a single San Francisco company controls the canonical location of Bitcoin code?
The single most-trusted canonical source of Bitcoin client is https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin
This URL is controlled by a single US company GitHub Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, United ...
- 702
11
votes
4
answers
438
views
Is there already an existing closed cash flow loop for the currency BTC?
Loop means:
merchant will get delivered goods from producer in BTC
customer will buy goods from merchant in BTC
factory worker will get salary as BTC (at least in parts)
At this loop there is no ...
- 191
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How exactly is Rucoin different than Bitcoin?
Rucoin is a "Russian Bitcoin clone" (see announcement thread).
Besides the fact the website is in Russian, what other characteristics does this coin have?
Is it just a 1-to-1 Bitcoin clone? Is ...
- 26.5k
7
votes
5
answers
380
views
What is/Is there the relation between the value of a bitcoin and the prices of video cards?
A significant number of Video Cards (significant investment) are required to reduce the possibility of 51% attacks. What would happen to the price of a Bitcoin if the prices of Video Cards suddenly ...
- 3,434
-4
votes
1
answer
300
views
What is the threat from multitudes of casual guessers? [closed]
It seems to me that everyone is thinking about the threat from hackers, especially, say large, well-organized groups of hackers.
But what about another threat: casual guessers.
Suppose someone ...
- 2,237
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
If I wanted to print my bitcoins?
Suppose I wanted to print my bitcoins to paper for safekeeping. It would be impossible for a hacker to get at my computer. To do so I need to know where to find the private keys. Is there only one ...
- 2,237
0
votes
4
answers
402
views
Is there a mechanism to handle stale bitcoins? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why doesn't Bitcoin return lost coins back into the block reward?
What could be the consequences of many bitcoins being lost out of circulation if people lose their wallets?...
- 2,237
11
votes
3
answers
502
views
Changing Bitcoin's deflationary nature
One of the most common criticisms made against Bitcoin is related to its deflationary nature. Regardless of the advantages and disadvantages of an inflationary system, would it possible to change the ...
- 11.5k
8
votes
3
answers
10k
views
Why does it take 15 minutes for my Bitcoin client to start?
I use Ubuntu 11.10 and have recently installed the standard Bitcoin client 0.40. But the GUI only appear around 15 minutes after started. My machine is an AMD64 Athlon 4600x2 with 6GB RAM. Is this ...
- 983
6
votes
1
answer
351
views
Is there a list of Bitcoin malware
Does anyone keep a track of various Bitcoin-related malware, such as the recent DevilRobber Trojan?
- 42.9k
11
votes
8
answers
2k
views
If the economy was based on bitcoin, how would someone go about getting a loan?
In today's society, people often take out loans from banks. In an economy that was run on bitcoins, how would someone go about getting a loan? I do not understand how this would work with Bitcoin's ...
- 5,471
16
votes
5
answers
10k
views
What Bitcoin-esque alternatives are there? [closed]
I'm seeing lots of bitcoin-esque alternatives mentioned here. What alternatives exist and how do they differ from Bitcoins?
- 2,030
23
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Why was the MIT license chosen for Bitcoin?
Given that an open, transparent, distributed p2p network is a central element of Bitcoin project it seems unusual that it is licensed under the MIT license which allows proprietary closed source ...
- 8,747
8
votes
2
answers
850
views
Trying to understand the bitcoin chart
I'm trying to understant this bitcoin chart, but there's no indication of what's the Y axis. The "200K" means the value in dollars? Or in bitcoins? Or what?
I'm trying to check out the value of a ...
- 327
15
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How can a non-miner store data in the block?
If I am not a miner and would like to put arbitrary data in the block chain, is there currently any method or protocol to get a miner to add it for me?
- 903
4
votes
2
answers
10k
views
What hashing speed does my hardware have?
I'm checking this page to know what hashing speed my hardware has. But there's no explanation about the acronyms.
For my Core 2 Quad Q9650, what's the expected hashing speed?
- 327
7
votes
2
answers
507
views
How should one try verifying to whom a given Bitcoin address belongs?
Lets say, I'd have a website that shows a large number of Bitcoin public addresses, and wanted to give option for anyone that owns a given address to verify it automatically.
Assuming that one ...
- 42.9k
3
votes
1
answer
205
views
Can I get all the information I need to create a payment transaction from BlockExplorer?
Let's say I have a bitcoin address that I want to make a payment from.
I understand that to create a payment from that address I need to get the unspent outs. Can I get that information from ...
- 1,000
5
votes
2
answers
698
views
How to perform a double spend attack in websites that accept transactions with 0 confirmations?
To perform a Finney attack or a 51% attack I need to have lots of computational power, but in this case (a website that accepts transactions with 0 confirmations) it seems to me that I only need to ...
- 11.5k
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Bitcoin client two-way communication
When client A opens a connection to client B, it opens its TCP connection to second client's port 8333. Is this connection solely used for A's queries and B's answers to A's query, or can B also query ...
- 42.9k
53
votes
5
answers
32k
views
Why was the target block time chosen to be 10 minutes?
According to the wiki, 10 minutes was chosen as a 'tradeoff'.
Why ten minutes specifically? It is a tradeoff chosen by Satoshi between propagation time of new blocks in large networks and the amount ...
- 2,465
7
votes
4
answers
256
views
Do no-fee transaction represent a greater risk if the product is delivered instantly?
Let's say I want to accept payments instantly on a site for digital downloads.
So I publish an address and wait for the unconfirmed transaction, I see the transaction and release the digital download....
- 1,000
19
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What are the differences between Bitcoin and Litecoin?
What are the differences between the Bitcoin and Litecoin algorithms and protocol?
- 4,751
5
votes
1
answer
473
views
Bitcoin initial communication diagram
I'm trying to understand how exactly does the Bitcoin client communicate initially with another client, as I'm making my own client and learning new things about TCP protocol. As I understand, the ...
- 42.9k
36
votes
7
answers
21k
views
How to generate a valid bitcoin address for destroying bitcoins?
(Following up to this question.)
In order to put a bitcoin beyond use, the answer was to select a made up address. As this isn't a formal destruction of bitcoins, there's a risk that the private keys ...
- 2,030
9
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Does the Bitcoin client generate bitcoins automatically?
I mean, you just need to install the software, and with the time, you will get lots of bitcoins?
- 327
6
votes
5
answers
4k
views
What are some good online Bitcoin wallets based on client-side security? [closed]
I just found Bitventory, which seems to be an online wallet service that requires a minimal amount of trust (it's the major design goal, at least).
Are there other services with similar goals or ...
- 26.5k
10
votes
4
answers
13k
views
Can I view price graphs for alternative currencies, longer than 12 hours?
AFAIK, btc-e.com is the only place to show LTC/BTC price graph. Is there a way to view these graphs for longer than the ~ 12 hours that are shown by default?
- 26.5k
5
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Where can I download the Litecoin binary for OSX?
Where can I find a compiled litecoin minerd binary for Mac OS X?
Perhaps a multi-coin implementation?
- 59
12
votes
3
answers
8k
views
How can I generate a large number of Bitcoin addresses?
I would like to generate a large number of public Bitcoin addresses (several hundred thousand) quickly and efficiently into a simple text file. What would be the easiest way to get this done? I'm just ...
- 7,543
-2
votes
1
answer
348
views
How to build a wallet in my computer? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What software and skills do I need?
I have seen on the wiki, there are too many steps (hard steps for a non-geek person) to build a wallet. Is there a easy way for a new non-...
- 983
9
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How does one use Bitcoin OTC?
I've heard of Bitcoin OTC and P2P exchanges, but never used one.
How does one start?
What does the ranking/rating system mean?
How are exchanges done / reported?
Why can't I see any user rating when ...
- 26.5k
7
votes
1
answer
509
views
What is the maximum number of signature check operations a transaction script can request?
As transaction size, the number of signature checks per transaction can affect client performance and the inclusion of many O_CHECKSIG opcodes could be used as a tool for denial-of-service attacks.
I ...
- 589
21
votes
2
answers
15k
views
What is the maximum size of a transaction?
I see from the source code (script.cpp) that there is an upper limit in the script size. It there any other limit to avoid a single transaction preventing other transactions of smaller sizes to get ...
- 589
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Confirmations on sent/receive transactions, still have 0 balance
I've tried to transfer Bitcoins from one address to another address, both of which I own. I bought a new computer, so I downloaded the Bitcoin client for OS X, and transfered from the old computer to ...
- 89
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Are private keys published to the blockchain after spending coins from a wallet?
Always I spend coins the final balance of the address that is used for transaction will go to zero. The remaining coins comes back as a change to a new address. Will this indicate that the private key ...
- 191
3
votes
1
answer
283
views
Can a Bitcoin node send messages to a program on the same machine?
I`m currently programming some TCP communication in my custom Bitcoin client. I am wondering if it is possible for the official client to communicate with it if they are sitting on the same machine? ...
- 42.9k
4
votes
1
answer
897
views
Testnet fallback nodes
Is there a list of nodes on Testnet that work like the fallback nodes on the Mainnet? I am trying to test my Bitcoin communication code and I'd like to start with just one IP I can rely to be on and ...
- 42.9k
-2
votes
1
answer
177
views
What's the best way to ask a merchant to accept Bitcoin? [closed]
When I buy something off the internet, I'd like to ask the merchant to consider accepting Bitcoin. What's the best way to explain to a merchant what Bitcoin is, and what it would do for them? Any ...
- 427
39
votes
4
answers
13k
views
What are checkpoints?
I often read that checkpoints protect the network from a 51% attack because an attacker cannot reverse transactions made before the last checkpoint.
How exactly does this checkpoint mechanism work? ...
- 11.5k
3
votes
1
answer
88
views
Bitcoin client communication time constraints
How long does the standard Bitcoin client wait between sending a message to another client and deciding that the client is not responding? That is, if someone makes a client that takes a couple ...
- 42.9k
8
votes
1
answer
335
views
When and who coined the term "mining"?
When was the term "mining" (the process of hashing, processing the transactions, adding blocks to the blockchain etc.) first used?
Was it there right from the beginning of bitcoin?
Who was the ...
- 3,279
4
votes
1
answer
186
views
Is there a list of existing businesses that have started to accept Bitcoin?
As opposed to new business that sprung up and accept Bitcoin from day 1.
I believe it will much shorter than the Trade wiki page, and perhaps more valuable in a certain way.
- 26.5k
6
votes
2
answers
155
views
Bitcoin promotional campaigns
Have there been any notable promotional campaigns for the Bitcoin project or some of the major Bitcoin-relatd websites?
- 42.9k
16
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Given a private key, how do you get a public address [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How are public & private keys in an address created?
I am scanning in a private key from a QR code in an app I am writting to handle the import of physical bitcoins.
...
- 622
3
votes
1
answer
239
views
Listtransactions in v. 0.4.0 - different behavior?
I upgraded to Bitcoin v. 0.4.0, and I think the way "listtransactions" works is different now.
Let's assume I have 10 transactions on my account.
Old behavior:
When I call
listtransactions ...
- 163