secp256k1

The day quantum computers break Bitcoin — will the world end?

Which Bitcoin assets are at risk from a cryptographically relevant quantum computer, and what the timeline and migration debate around post-quantum cryptography looks like.

Bitcoin Core v0.1 code walkthrough — Forensicxs's 31,794-line analysis

Forensicxs published a line-by-line walkthrough of Bitcoin v0.1's 31,794 lines of source code — one of the most detailed public analyses of Satoshi's original codebase, covering all 31 files.

libsecp256k1 replaces OpenSSL for consensus in Bitcoin Core v0.12

On January 15, 2016, Bitcoin Core v0.12 replaced OpenSSL with libsecp256k1 — Wuille and Maxwell's custom elliptic-curve library — for consensus-critical ECDSA verification.

Gregory Maxwell (dates unknown) — Blockstream co-founder and designer of CoinJoin and Confidential Transactions

Long-time Bitcoin Core contributor (gmaxwell), Blockstream co-founder, co-developer of libsecp256k1. Authored CoinJoin, co-designed Confidential Transactions. Known for deep technical write-ups.

Pieter Wuille (dates unknown) — Bitcoin Core developer behind BIP-32, libsecp256k1, SegWit, and Taproot

Belgian software engineer (sipa), Bitcoin Core committer since 2011. Author/co-author of BIP-32, BIP-141 (SegWit), BIP-340/341 (Schnorr/Taproot). Initiator of libsecp256k1; Blockstream co-founder.

Why did Satoshi build Bitcoin only on Windows? — 27 months of Linux silence

On the public record, Satoshi developed Bitcoin on Windows exclusively for 27 months (design + release + early period); Linux engagement first appears as reactive support for Malmi's port.

Bitcoin architecture evolution — Satoshi era v0.1 vs modern v27+ baseline

Cross-cutting architecture comparison across every subsystem: Satoshi's v0.1 (January 2009) side by side with modern Bitcoin Core v27+, with split diagrams and domain tables.

Bitcoin transaction design — UTXO model, Script, and signature schemes

Deep-dive into Bitcoin's transaction layer: UTXO lifecycle, transaction structure, Script evaluation, ECDSA and Schnorr signatures, SegWit, and Taproot.

Bitcoin wallet and interface design — key management, transaction construction, and RPC

How Bitcoin Core manages keys, constructs transactions, selects coins, estimates fees, and exposes functionality through RPC, REST, and ZMQ interfaces.

Bitcoin system design overview — architecture, data flow, and design-document index

High-level system overview of Bitcoin's architecture, layer model, and data flow. Entry point to a 12-page design-document series covering every major subsystem.

Bitcoin security model — attack surfaces, trust assumptions, and defense layers

Bitcoin's threat model mapped end-to-end: what the protocol trusts, what it defends against, how each attack is countered, and where open risks remain.

Satoshi was not a cypherpunk — and reached the cypherpunk core anyway

Editorial reading of Satoshi's relationship to cypherpunk, from three primary observations: he didn't know b-money, Wei Dai testified Satoshi was "not previously active," alignment with Hughes 1993.

Bitcoin did not appear from nowhere — inheritance and invention

Bitcoin v0.1 reuses one cypherpunk primitive (PoW from Hashcash), borrows general CS components (Merkle trees, linked timestamping), and synthesizes the rest (UTXO, mining, 21M cap, P2P, ECDSA).

What did Satoshi say about himself? — a man who spoke of technology, not of himself

Inventory of every Satoshi self-reference in the public record (Aug 2008 – Apr 2011): identity claims, dev disclosures, operational state, farewells, authenticity-disputed. Each row anchored.