Satoshi Scoop Weekly, 7 Jun 2024

Crypto Insights

Peter Todd on Determining Block Storage Size

Bitcoin uses a structured approach for data storage through blk*.dat files, with sizes ranging between 128MB to 134MB. How was this range determined, and are there tests proving this to be the most effective limit?
Peter Todd responds: The upper limit is mainly due to compatibility with old file systems, while the lower limit is influenced by technical difficulties of managing a large number of files in a single directory. Overall, this value is the result of extensive testing and consideration to optimize efficiency and performance, balancing the avoidance of the file system limits and prevention of directory overcrowding.
Vitalik Buterin has recently published an article discussing the block size, titled Some reflections on the Bitcoin block size war.

Is BIP 21 Obsolete? Updates to Include Segwit and Taproot Addresses

BIP 21 currently mandates only base58 addresses and does not formally support Segwit or Taproot addresses in URIs. However, a significant portion of BIP 21-compliant wallets are already advancing the use of Segwit and Taproot addresses in transactions. Additionally, with the advent of Silent Payments and BOLT 12, there's a growing need for a standard way to include extra payment instructions in URIs, which BIP 21 should document.
Bitcoin Core developer Matt Corallo proposes a PR, detailing the updates to ensure BIP specifications align with advancements in transaction technology without hindering existing wallet functionality.

BIP 352: Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBT) Support

This post discusses support for spending and sending silent payment outputs in Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBTs).
Additionally, the proposal touches upon an innovative idea: OutputGenerator may not need direct access to private keys, but could operate using a mechanism similar to "ECDH sharing," an encryption structure allowing secure collaboration without fully revealing keys.

BIP for Testnet 4: Saying Goodbye to Testnet 3's Block Storms

The new Bitcoin Testnet 4 aims to replace Testnet 3, with improvements to consensus that make attacks using only CPU mining impractical.
Testnet 3, running for 13 years, started at approximately block 2.5 million, with a current block reward of ~0.014 TBTC. Its major issue is exploitation for fraudulent airdrops, leading to a significant influx of non-developers asking developers for TBTC, followed by block storms where three years' worth of blocks were mined in a few weeks, nearly rendering the network unusable.
For more information on block storms, refer to Bitcoin Testnet Block Storms. For perspectives against valorizing testnet coins, refer to Griefing Bitcoin's Testnet.

Light Client Protocol for Silent Payments

For sending silent payments (SP), wallet software only needs to add certain cryptographic primitives. However, to receive SP, one must also be able to access information about every on-chain transaction compatible with SP, which is trivial for Bitcoin full nodes, but requires additional functionality for lightweight clients.
This protocol includes a service provider to build a public key per-block index for use with SP. Clients download this index with a compact block filter for the same block, compute a local tweak for each key (or set of keys), and determine if the block filter has a payment to their corresponding tweaked keys. If so, the client downloads additional block-level data to learn about the received amounts and how to use them later.

New Descriptors for Taproot Spending Conditions

rawnode(HEXHASH) takes the hash of a Merkle tree node, be it internal or leaf, allowing wallets or other scanners to find specific output scripts without knowing the exact tapscript in use.
rawleaf(HEXSCRIPT,[HEXLEAFVER]) functions similarly to existing raw descriptors, used for including scripts not representable by templated descriptors. Its primary distinction is the ability to specify tapleaf versions that differ from the tapscript default outlined in BIP 342.

Using BOLT12 in the Lightning Development Kit (LDK)

BOLT12 (also known as Offers), drafted by Rusty Russell, provides enhanced privacy, reusable payment codes, refunds, and more. These functions are natively supported over the Lightning Network, facilitated by techniques like onion messages and route blinding, without requiring additional servers.
This article elucidates the integration of BOLT12 within the Lightning Development Kit (LDK).

Enhancing Bitcoin Baselayer Privacy with Dandelion++

Dandelion, a propagation protocol (BIP 0156), aims to enhance transaction routing privacy by obfuscating the origin. Proposed in 2018, it has evolved through Dandelion++, Dandelion Lite, and Clover, and has been implemented in privacy-focused currencies like Monero and protocols such as Mimblewimble. Due to concerns over potential DoS attacks, Dandelion has never been implemented on Bitcoin.
This article examines the benefits and trade-offs of Dandelion++ and suggests that revisiting the protocol could be pivotal in maintaining Bitcoin's censorship resistance.

Image Source: therage.co

Understanding AVM, Atomicals Protocol's Virtual Machine

AVM leverages Bitcoin’s limited storage space and OP Codes framework by introducing a special encoding and decoding method within a sandbox environment for each Bitcoin mainnet transaction.
This sandbox comes with an indexer, sandbox parser (instruction set), global database, etc., which can independently complete a whole set of functions such as asset storage and transaction status recording. It is equivalent to embedding a dynamic 'state machine' in the Bitcoin mainnet, facilitating complex smart contract processing and state synchronization and verification.
However, AVM’s reliance on Bitcoin Script for encoding storage and OP Codes for transaction execution means it is subject to the performance limitations of the Bitcoin mainnet.

Satoshi Scoop Weekly, 7 Jun 2024

Comments

Satoshi Scoop Weekly

More from this blog

Satoshi Scoop Weekly, 6 Febuary 2026

Satoshi Scoop 周报, 2026 年 2 月 6 日

Satoshi Scoop Weekly, 30 January 2026

Satoshi Scoop 周报, 2026 年 1 月 30 日

Satoshi Scoop Weekly, 23 January 2026

Crypto Insights

Peter Todd on Determining Block Storage Size

Is BIP 21 Obsolete? Updates to Include Segwit and Taproot Addresses

BIP 352: Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBT) Support

BIP for Testnet 4: Saying Goodbye to Testnet 3's Block Storms

Light Client Protocol for Silent Payments

New Descriptors for Taproot Spending Conditions

Using BOLT12 in the Lightning Development Kit (LDK)

Enhancing Bitcoin Baselayer Privacy with Dandelion++

Understanding AVM, Atomicals Protocol's Virtual Machine

Top Reads on Blockchain and Beyond

Griefing Bitcoin's Testnet

Bitcoin Testnet Block Storms

Some Reflections on the Bitcoin Block Size War

Digital Objects, Economies, and the Challenge of Meaning: a Beginning

Command Palette

Comments

Satoshi Scoop Weekly

More from this blog

Crypto Insights

Top Reads on Blockchain and Beyond