Before you can get started programming Bitcoin (and Lightning), you should have a basic understanding of what they are and how they work. This chapter provides that overview. Many more definitions will appear within the document itself; this is only intended to lay the foundation.
After working through this chapter, a developer will be able to:
- Assess the Parts of the Bitcoin System
- Decide When Blockchain is Useful
Supporting objectives include the ability to:
- Understand What Bitcoin Is
- Understand What Blockchain Transactions Are
- Understand What Blockchain Is
- Understand What Lightning Is
Bitcoin is a programmatic system that allows for the transfer of the bitcoin currency. It is enabled by a decentralized, peer-to-peer system of nodes, which include full nodes, wallets, and miners. Working together, they ensure that bitcoin transactions are fast and non-repudiable. Thanks to the decentralized nature of the system, these transactions are also censor-resistant and can provide other advantages such as pseudonymity and non-correlation if used well.
Obviously, Bitcoin is the heart of this book, but it's also the originator of many other systems, including blockchains and Lightning, which are both detailed in this tutorial, and many other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Litecoins, which are not.
How Are Coins Transferred? Bitcoin currency isn't physical coins. Instead it's an endless series of ownership reassignments. When one person sends coins to another, that transfer is stored as a transaction. It's the transaction that actually records the ownership of the money, not any token local to the owner's wallet or their machine.
Who Can You Send Coins To? The vast majority of bitcoin transactions involve coins being sent to individual people (or at least to individual Bitcoin addresses). However, more complex methodologies can be used to send bitcoins to groups of people or to scripts. These various methodologies have names like P2PKH, multisig, and P2SH.
How Are Transactions Stored? Transactions are combined into larger blocks of data, which are then written to the blockchain ledger. A block is built in such a way that it cannot be replaced or rewritten once several blocks have been built after it. This is what makes bitcoins non-repudiable: the decentralized global ledger where everything is recorded is effectively a permanent and unchangeable database.
However, the process of building these blocks is stochastic: it's somewhat random, so you can never be assured that a transaction will be placed in a specific block. There can also be changes in blocks if they're very recent, but only if they're very recent. So, things become non-repudiable (and permanent and unchangeable) after a little bit of time.
How Are Transactions Protected? The funds contained in a Bitcoin transaction are locked with a cryptographic puzzle. These puzzles are designed so that they can be easily solved by the person who the funds were sent to. This is done using the power of public-key cryptography.
Funds are further protected by the use of hashes. Public keys aren't actually stored in the blockchain, only public-key hashes are. This means that even if quantum computer were to come along, Bitcoin transactions would remain protected by this second level of cryptography.
How Are Transactions Created? The heart of each Bitcoin transaction is a FORTH-like scripting language that is used to lock the transaction. To respend the money, the recipient provides specific information to the script that proves he's the intended recipient.
However, these Bitcoin scripts are the lowest level of Bitcoin functionality. Much Bitcoin work is done through the bitcoind Bitcoin daemon, which is controlled through RPC commands. Many people send those RPC commands through the bitcoin-cli program, which provides an even simpler interface. Non-programmers don't even worry about these minutia, but instead use programmed wallets with simpler interfaces.
One way to think of Bitcoin is as a sequence of atomic transactions. Each transaction is authenticated by a sender with the solution to a previous cryptographic puzzle that was stored as a script. The new transaction is locked for the recipient with a new cryptographic puzzle that is stored as a script. Every transaction is recorded in an immutable global ledger.
Public-key cryptography is a mathematical system for protecting data and proving ownership through an asymmetric pair of linked keys: the public key and the private key.
It's important to Bitcoin (and to most blockchain systems) because it's the basis of a lot of the cryptography that protects the cryptocurrency funds. A Bitcoin transaction is typically sent to an address that is a hashed public key. The recipient is then able to retrieve the money by revealing both the public key and the private key.
What Is a Public Key? A public key is the key given out to other people. In a typical public-key system, a user generates a public key and a private key, then he gives the public key to all and sundry. Those recipients can encrypt information with the public key, but it can't be decrypted with the same public key because of the asymmetry of the key pair.
What Is a Private Key? A private key is linked to a public key in a key pair. In a typical public-key system, a user keeps his private key secure and uses it to decrypt messages that were encrypted with his public key in the process of being sent to him..
What Is a Signature? A message (or more commonly, a hash of a message) can be signed with a private key, creating a signature. Anyone with the corresponding public key can then validate the signature, which verifies that the signer owns the private key associated with the public key in question.
What Is a Hash Function? A hash function is an algorithm frequently used with cryptography. It's a way to map a large, arbitrary amount of data to a small, fixed amount of data. Hash functions used in cryptography are one-way and collision-resistant, meaning that a hash can reliably be linked to the original data, but the original data can not be regenerated from the hash. Hashes thus allow the transmission of small amounts of data to represent large amounts of data, which can be important for efficiency and storage requirements.
Bitcoin takes advantage of a hash's ability to disguise the original data, which allows concealment of a user's actual public key, making transactions resistant to quantum computing.
One way to think of public-key cryptography is: a way for anyone to protect data such that only an authorized person can access it, and such that the authorized person can prove that he will have that access.
ECC stands for elliptic-curve cryptography. It's a specific branch of public-key cryptography that depends on mathematical calculations conducted using elliptic curves defined over finite fields. It's more complex and harder to explain than classic public-key cryptography (which used prime numbers), but it has some nice advantages.
ECC does not receive much attention in this tutorial. That's because this tutorial is all about integrating with Bitcoin Core and Lightning servers, which have already taken care of the cryptography for you. In fact, this tutorial's intention is that you don't have to worry about cryptography at all, because that's something that you really want experts to deal with.
What is an Elliptic Curve? An elliptic curve is a geometric curve that takes the form y<sup>2</sup> = x<sup>3</sup> + ax + b. A specific elliptic curve is chosen by selecting specific values of a and b. The curve must then be carefully examined to determine if it works well for cryptography. For example, the secp256k1 curve used by Bitcoin is defined as a=0 and b=7.
Any line that intersects an elliptic curve will do so at either 1 or 3 points ... and that's the basis of elliptic-curve cryptopgrahy.
What are Finite Fields? A finite field is a finite set of numbers, where all addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is defined so that it results in other numbers also in the same finite field. One simple way to create a finite field is through the use of a modulo function.
How is an Elliptic Curve Defined Over a Finite Field? An ellipitic curve defined over a finite field has all of the points on its curve drawn from a specific finite field. This takes the form: y<sup>2</sup> % field-size = (x<sup>3</sup> + ax + b) % field-size The finite field used for secp256k1 is 2<sup>256</sup> - 2<sup>32</sup> - 2<sup>9</sup> - 2<sup>8</sup> - 2<sup>7</sup> - 2<sup>6</sup> - 2<sup>4</sup> - <sup>1</sup>.
How Are Elliptic Curves Used in Cryptography? In elliptic-curve cryptography, a user selects a very large (256-bit) number as his private key. He then adds a set base point on the curve to itself that many times. (In secp256k1, the base point is G = 04 79BE667E F9DCBBAC 55A06295 CE870B07 029BFCDB 2DCE28D9 59F2815B 16F81798 483ADA77 26A3C465 5DA4FBFC 0E1108A8 FD17B448 A6855419 9C47D08F FB10D4B8, which prefixes the two parts of the tuple with an 04 to say that the data point is in uncompressed form. If you prefer a straight geometric definition, it's the point "0x79BE667EF9DCBBAC55A06295CE870B07029BFCDB2DCE28D959F2815B16F81798,0x483ADA7726A3C4655DA4FBFC0E1108A8FD17B448A68554199C47D08FFB10D4B8") The resultant number is the public key. Various mathematical formula can then be used to prove ownership of the public key, given the private key. As with any cryptographic function, this one is a trap door: it's easy to go from private key to public key and largely impossible to go from public key to private key.
This particular methodology also explains why finite fields are used in elliptic curves: it ensures that the private key will not grow too large. Note that the finite field for secp256k1 is slightly smaller than 256 bits, which means that all public keys will be 256 bits long, just like the private keys are.
What Are the Advantages of ECC? The main advantage of ECC is that it allows the same security as classic public-key cryptography with a much smaller key. A 256-bit elliptic-curve public key corresponds to a 3072-bit traditional (RSA) public key.
One way to think of public-key cryptography is: a way to enable public-key cryptography that uses very small keys and very obscure math.
Blockchain is the generalization of the methodology used by Bitcoin to create a distributed global ledger. Bitcoin is a blockchain as are any number of alt-coins, each of which lives in its networks and writes to its own chain. Sidechains like Liquid are blockchains too. Blockchains don't even need to have anything to do with finances. For example, there have been many discussions of using blockchains to protect self-sovereign identities.
Though you need to understand the basics of how a blockchain works to understand how transactions work in Bitcoin, you won't need to go any further than that. Because blockchains have become a wide category of technology, those basic concepts are likely to be applicable to many other projects in this growing technology sector. The specific programming commands learned in this book will not be, however, as they're fairly specific to Bitcoin (and Lightning).
Why Is It Called a Chain? Each block in the blockchain stores a hash of the block before it. This links the current block all the way back to the original "genesis block" through an unbroken chain. It's a way to create absolute order among possibly conflicting data. This also provides the security of blockchain, because each block stacked atop an old one makes it harder to recreate the old block due to the proof-of-work algorithms used in block creation. Once several blocks have been built atop a block in the chain, it's essentially irreversible.
What is a Fork? Occasionally two blocks are created around the same time. This temporarily creates a one-block fork, where either current block could be the "real" one. Every once in a while, a fork might expand to become two blocks, three blocks, or even four blocks long, but pretty quickly one side of the fork is determined to be the real one, and the other is "orphaned". This is part of the stochastic process of block creation, and demonstrates why several blocks must be built atop a block before it can be considered truly trustworthy and non-repudiable.
One way to think of blockchain is: a linked series of blocks of unchangeable data, going back in time. Another way is: a linked series of blocks that absolutely order data that could be conflicting.
If you want to transact bitcoins, then obviously Bitcoin is right for you. However, more widely, blockchain has become a popular buzz-word even though it's not a magic bullet for all technical problems. With that said, there are many specific situations where blockchain is a superior technology.
Blockchains probably will be helpful if:
- Users don't trust each other.
- Or: Users exist across various borders.
- Users don't trust central authorities.
- And: Users want to control their own destinies.
- Users want transparent technology.
- Users want to share something.
- And: Users want what's shared to be permanently recorded.
- Users want fast transaction finality.
- But: Users don't need instant transaction finality.
Blockchains probably will not be helpful if:
- Users are trusted:
- e.g.: transactions occur within a business or organization.
- e.g.: transactions are overseen by a central authority.
- Secrecy is required:
- e.g.: Information should be secret.
- e.g.: Transactions should be secret.
- e.g.: Transactors should be secret.
- Unless: A methodology for cryptographic secrecy is carefully considered, analyzed, and tested.
- Users need instant transaction finality.
- e.g.: in less than 10 minutes on a Bitcoin-like network, in less than 2.5 minutes on a Litecoin-like network, in less than 15 seconds on an Ethereum-like network
Do note that there may still be solutions for some of these situations within the Bitcoin ecosystem. For example, payment channels are rapidly addressing questions of liquidity and payment finality.
Lightning is a layer-2 protocol that interacts with Bitcoin to allow users to exchange their bitcoins "off-chain". It has both advantages and disadvantages over using Bitcoin on its own.
Lightning is also the secondary focus of this tutorial. Though it's mostly about interacting directly with Bitcoin (and the bitcoind), it pays some attention to Lightning because it's an upcoming technology that is likely to become a popular alternative to Bitcoin in the near future. This book takes the same approach to Lightning as to Bitcoin: it teaches how to interact directly with a trusted Lightning daemon from the command line.
Unlike with Bitcoin, there are actually several variants of Lightning. This tutorial uses the standard-compliant c-lightning implementation as its trusted Lightning server.
What is a Layer-2 Protocol? A layer-2 Bitcoin protocol works on top of Bitcoin. In this case, Lightning works atop Bitcoin, interacting with it through smart contracts.
What is a Lightning Channel? A Lightning Channel is a connection between two Lightning users. Each of the users locks up some number of bitcoins on the Bitcoin blockchain using a multi-sig signed by both of them. The two users can then exchange bitcoins through their Lightning channel without ever writing to the Bitcoin blockchain. Only when they want to close out their channel do they settle their bitcoins, based on the final division of coins.
What is a Lightning Network? Putting together a number of Lightning Channels creates the Lightning Network. This allows two users who have not created a channel between themselves to exchange bitcoins using Lightning: the protocol forms a chain of Channels between the two users, then exchanges the coins through the chain using time-locked transactions.
What are the Advantages of Lightning? Lightning allows for faster transactions with lower fees. This creates the real possibility of bitcoin-funded micropayments. It also offers better privacy, since it's off-chain with only the first and last states of the transaction being written to the immutable Bitcoin ledger.
What are the Disadvantages of Lightning? Lightning is still a very new technology and hasn't been tested as thoroughly as Bitcoin. That's not just a question of the technological implementation, but also whether the design itself can be gamed in any unexpected ways.
One way to think of Lightning is: a way to transact bitcoins using off-chain channels between pairs of people, so that only a first and final state have to be written to the blockchain.
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer system that allows for the transfer of funds through transactions that are locked with puzzles. These puzzles are dependent upon public-key elliptic-curve cryptography. When you generalize the ideas behind Bitcoin, you get blockchains, a technology that's currently growing and innovating. When you expand the ideas behind Bitcoin, you get layer-2 protocols such as Lightning, which expand the currency's potential.
Advance through "Preparing for Bitcoin" with Chapter Two: Setting Up a Bitcoin-Core VPS.