From 08c1b635a10aa40aedc0fa013c024991c34f1039 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "David A. Harding" Date: Sat, 4 Feb 2023 17:09:12 -1000 Subject: [PATCH] CH02::mining: clarify that putting txes in blocks isn't hard It's just forming the header correctly that's hard. Also remove the word trust, since Bitcoin doesn't depend on "trust in computation". --- ch02.asciidoc | 8 +++++--- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/ch02.asciidoc b/ch02.asciidoc index a791eec1..d4f91e56 100644 --- a/ch02.asciidoc +++ b/ch02.asciidoc @@ -521,9 +521,11 @@ network. It does not become part of the _blockchain_ until it is verified and included in a block by a process called _mining_. See <> for a detailed explanation. -The Bitcoin system of trust is based on computation. Transactions are -bundled into _blocks_, which require an enormous amount of computation -to prove, but only a small amount of computation to verify as proven. +The Bitcoin system of counterfeit protection is based on computation. +Transactions are bundled into _blocks_. Blocks have a very small header +that must be formed in a very specific way, requiring an enormous +amount of computation to get right--but only a small amount of +computation to verify as correct. The mining process serves two purposes in bitcoin: * ((("mining and consensus", "consensus rules", "security provided