๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต
When it comes to qualities like security, decentralization, scalability, and privacy, #Bitcoin was optimized for the first two, but not so much for the last two.
Many solutions โ both on- and off-chain โ for adding scalability and privacy have been implemented, and many more have been proposed, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Some cryptocurrencies were developed with an emphasis on privacy, and others were built for scalability, but always at the expense of security and decentralization.
Security and decentralization ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต come first. And now, Bitcoin can be private and scale to a global userbase, thanks to recent developments with ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต.
Hereโs the full story๐
In 1982, David Chaum introduced Chaumian Mints, pioneering the concept of digital cash that preserved user anonymity. It operates on a principle of anonymity thatโs similar to using physical cash, but in a digital format. ๐๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ง๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ'๐ด ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐บ, akin to handing over cash without showing an ID.
This is achieved through the use of cryptographic techniques, enabling the digital currency to be both ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ and ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ. Essentially, it lets users spend their digital cash without leaving a trail that directly links them back to the transaction, providing a layer of privacy not available with traditional electronic transactions.
Unfortunately, this model required a trusted third party to ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ'๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐, and ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ-๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด their digital cash.
๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Bitcoin introduced a groundbreaking solution to the double-spending problem without needing a central authority. Through the distributed security of its timechain, Bitcoin ensures every transaction is verified, secure, and transparent to the network, ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐.
The decentralized nature of Bitcoin's consensus mechanism makes the principles behind Chaumian Mints achievable ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต. This eCash innovation provides a robust foundation for secure, anonymous transactions across the network.
๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต๐
Building on Chaum's vision, Fedimint and Cashu ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ'๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ to offer enhanced privacy and scalability in transactions. They employ advanced cryptographic techniques by leveraging the security and decentralized trust model of Bitcoin, to enable users to transact instantly and anonymously.
By operating on top of Bitcoin and integrating with the Lightning Network, these systems facilitate ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐-๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ, and ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ transactions. They represent a modern take on digital cash, empowering every Bitcoin user with a level of privacy and security thatโs not seen in any other cryptocurrency.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Implementations of Chaumian Mints on Bitcoin, like Fedi and Cashu, continue to push the boundaries of privacy and scalability in digital currency. By harnessing Bitcoin's decentralized, trustless nature, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด.
Please ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค and ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ this, and ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ it for quick reference.
Have you used Fedi, Cashu, or any other eCash systems?
Tell me about it in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ
In 1982, David Chaum introduced Chaumian Mints, pioneering the concept of digital cash that preserved user anonymity. It operates on a principle of anonymity thatโs similar to using physical cash, but in a digital format. ๐๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ง๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ'๐ด ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐บ, akin to handing over cash without showing an ID.
This is achieved through the use of cryptographic techniques, enabling the digital currency to be both ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ and ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ. Essentially, it lets users spend their digital cash without leaving a trail that directly links them back to the transaction, providing a layer of privacy not available with traditional electronic transactions.
Unfortunately, this model required a trusted third party to ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ'๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐, and ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ-๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด their digital cash.
๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Bitcoin introduced a groundbreaking solution to the double-spending problem without needing a central authority. Through the distributed security of its timechain, Bitcoin ensures every transaction is verified, secure, and transparent to the network, ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐.
The decentralized nature of Bitcoin's consensus mechanism makes the principles behind Chaumian Mints achievable ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต. This eCash innovation provides a robust foundation for secure, anonymous transactions across the network.
๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต๐
Building on Chaum's vision, Fedimint and Cashu ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ'๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ to offer enhanced privacy and scalability in transactions. They employ advanced cryptographic techniques by leveraging the security and decentralized trust model of Bitcoin, to enable users to transact instantly and anonymously.
By operating on top of Bitcoin and integrating with the Lightning Network, these systems facilitate ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐-๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ, and ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ transactions. They represent a modern take on digital cash, empowering every Bitcoin user with a level of privacy and security thatโs not seen in any other cryptocurrency.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Implementations of Chaumian Mints on Bitcoin, like Fedi and Cashu, continue to push the boundaries of privacy and scalability in digital currency. By harnessing Bitcoin's decentralized, trustless nature, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด.
Please ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค and ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ this, and ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ it for quick reference.
Have you used Fedi, Cashu, or any other eCash systems?
Tell me about it in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ
๐๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ปโ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ:
The math is such that if we start with 50 bitcoin for every block, and halve that at every 210,000th block, the upper limit of the total number of coins approaches a number of just under 21 million.
Satoshi could have used a different combination of 50 and 210,000 and the upper limit would be different. Was it planned, or arbitrary?
I have always hoped, purely because itโs elegant, that Satoshi looked at the total world store of value in USD, which I estimated to be 2.1 quadrillion dollars. If Satoshi had that number too, then with 21 million bitcoin, thereโd be 2.1 quadrillion of the smallest units (now called satoshis, 0.00000001 bitcoin is a satoshi). If Bitcoin took all that store of value, and many expect it will, then 1 satoshi would be worth 1 dollar. Poetic.
Arman The Parman is a Bitcoiner passionate about Bitcoin privacy and private key safety. He runs an online mentoring program to help people reach "insane security", and developed and teaches a non-custodial inheritance strategy which is both trustless and loss resistant. He contributes to Bitcoin by writing economic and technical articles posted on his website.
Preorder your copy of โ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ค๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐โ, and ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ฌ%, by contributing to our 
Each chapter begins with one of the most pertinent questions about Bitcoin, and is answered by some of the best and brightest Bitcoin plebs, including 
Bitcoin's evolution showcases ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต in adoption and price, distinct from the short-lived 17th-century tulip mania. Its rise mirrors that of leading tech firms, driven by ๐ข ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ and ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ among merchants and institutions, positioning it as a significant digital currency.
Bitcoin's finite supply of 21 million coins, designed to prevent debasement via inflation, alongside its decentralized, secure, and transparent nature, ๐๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ป๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐. Its Proof of Work ensures secure, immutable transaction records, operating on a peer-to-peer network that eliminates intermediaries.
Critics often overlook the source of Bitcoin's value: the human desire for their time and labor to be represented in a scarce, divisible, portable, and fungible asset. Bitcoin's digital and decentralized attributes enhance these characteristics, ๐ง๐ถ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏโ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ.
Bitcoin serves as ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐น๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ๐, offering a diversification tool against inflation, currency devaluation, and geopolitical risks. Its independence from conventional financial mechanisms renders it an appealing choice for safeguarding wealth.
In short: Unlike the Tulip Bubble of the 17th century, Bitcoin's ongoing development and inherent qualities firmly establish it as much more than a speculative asset. Its properties and role as a financial system hedge underscore its ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ and ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ in the global economy.
