Implementations:
- Python: github.com/alecalve/python-bitcoin-blockchain-parser/blob/c06f420995b345c9a193c8be6e0916eb70335863/blockchain_parser/utils.py#L41. Sample usage to extract 3 values from a
bytesobject:file, off = decode_varint(value) blk_off, off = decode_varint(value[off:]) tx_off, off = decode_varint(value[off:])
The fee/change address of cryptograffiti.info.
The first transaction of each Bitcoin block is called the "coinbase transaction", and it is magic as it does not need to point to a previous output script and have a valid input script as it serves as a Block reward for miners.
The input script of the Coinbase transaction can be anything, and this can be used as a Bitcoin inscription method.
Notable examples:
- Genesis block message
- Prayer side of the Prayer wars
- www.blockchain.com/explorer/blocks/btc/0
- blockchain.info/block-height/0?format=json
- en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Genesis_block contains some comments on the data.
Inscription added by Satoshi Nakamoto on the Genesis block containing:which is a reference to: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chancellor-alistair-darling-on-brink-of-second-bailout-for-banks-n9l382mn62h wihch is fully titled:The "Alistair" was slikely removed due to limited payload concerns.
The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks
Chancellor Alistair Darling on brink of second bailout for banks
Through the newspaper reference, the message proves a minimal starting date for the first mine.
And it hints that one of Bitcoin's motivation was the financial crisis of 2007-2008, where banks were given bailouts by the government to not go under, which many people opposed as the crisis was their own fault in the first place. A notable related stab is taken at Len Sassaman tribute.
We can extract the image from the blockchain ourselves by starting from: blockchain.info/block-height/0?format=json.
From that page we manually extract the hash and that does contain the famous genesis block string:The JSON clarifies that the data is encoded in the
000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f and then:wget -O 0.hex https://blockchain.info/block/000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f?format=hex
xxd -p -r 0.hexEThe Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banksscript field of the transaction input:{
{
"script":"04ffff001d0104455468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b73"The extra where:
E (0x45 in ASCII) in EThe Times is just extra noise required by the script, we can break things up as:04ffff001d0104 45 5468652054696d65732030332f4a616e2f32303039204368616e63656c6c6f72206f6e206272696e6b206f66207365636f6e64206261696c6f757420666f722062616e6b7354isT- the
04ffff001d0104part just doesn't show up on the terminal because it is not made of any printable characters.
The initial
04 is OP_RETURN.TODO what is actual the meaning of the
ffff001d010445 part? @defango twitter.com/defango/status/1642750851134652417 comments:04ffff001d0104 is a hexadecimal string. It is commonly used in the Bitcoin network as a part of the mining process. Specifically, it is used as the target value for a block to be considered valid by the Bitcoin network.This value represents the level of difficulty required for a miner to generate a block that meets the network's criteria. The first four bytes, 04ffff, represent the maximum possible target value. The next three bytes, 001d01, represent the current difficulty levelwhile the final byte, 04, is a padding byte. In summary, this value sets the difficulty level for mining a new block in the Bitcoin network.
TODO the
output of the transaction has a jumbled script, likely just a regular output to get things going, can't be arbitrary like input.
- medium.com/@chain.info1/the-mystery-behind-satoshi-tribute-donations-cf4ce28c56a1 The Mystery Behind "Satoshi Tribute" Donations by Chain.Info (2020)
Articles by others on the same topic
There are currently no matching articles.