

BitCoin is a public ledger - llambda
http://erratasec.blogspot.com/2013/05/bitcoin-is-public-ledger.html#.UbZmiRZ-Uqb

======
Lerc
I have seen so many times in news stories that bitcoin mining reveals a series
of new bit that make up a bitcoin, or that a bitcoin is just a series of bits.

Bitcoin is a ledger, that ledger is public. The columns are labelled with
things like 17Zsi2TiKrZoAoaQ7bzt3wPB5NZV1T4KeE, That column _is_ the bitcoin
in your wallet. You need to have a password to move something out of your
column and into another. That's the private key to your wallet.

Most people understand ledgers. Most of the misunderstandings about bitcoin
(especially regarding anonymity) indicate that people don't realise that
bitcoin is a ledger.

~~~
drivebyacct2
Haha, even here, misinformed (often angry) comments are directed at Bitcoin
supporters that align precisely with what you're saying. Some of the
accussations are simply flat out incompatible with an open/public ledger, let
alone getting into anything Bitcoin specific.

And that's despite stuff like this being posted repeatedly. In fact, this is a
repost from like ~~2~~ 10 days ago, isn't it? (
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5796935](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5796935)
)

------
mpyne
Looks like everyone's tuckered out. A full day of WWDC and PRISM and the
Bitcoin story only has 4 comments after 2 hours. Get some rest, guys! ;)

~~~
bluetooth
It might also be because this link has been posted at least two times
recently:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5796935](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5796935)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5807149](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5807149)

------
Pitarou
Y'all know that there's already a protocol designed exactly for doing this
without hacking BitCoin, don't you?

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_timestamping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_timestamping)

------
8ig8
This sounds like a modern version of the Poor Man's Copyright[1] where you
mail yourself some document for _protection_.

[1]
[http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp](http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp)

------
jlgaddis

        $ echo foo > bar
        $ gpg --sign bar
        $ gpg --verify bar.gpg

~~~
walrus
It looks like the method described in the article also provides a verified
timestamp without the need for a (centralized) timestamp authority. I'd say
that's a pretty important difference.

------
platz
Doesn't this actually destroy bitcoins (of which there will only ever be a
finite amount)

~~~
sneak
Sure, in the sense that they are now permanently unusable by being transferred
to keys for which the private key is not known.

By sending a single satoshi (0.000000001 BTC), the monetary effect is
insignificant. There will eventually be 2,100,000,000,000,000 of such units.

------
nutate
Bitstampoer on github already does a Verizon of this.

[https://github.com/newell-purdue/bitstamper](https://github.com/newell-
purdue/bitstamper)

